celebrity.estateAn EGRET.LAW propertyWorld map3D timeline
Home / Stories / Money and markets
Subject

Money and markets

Fortunes held in shares, bonds, trusts and partnerships, the instruments that outlived their issuers, and the money behind them.

46 storiesEvery story with sourcesFilter all stories

What do the money and markets estate cases show?

A founder who names his children as trustees and sets a deadline has to plan for the trustees' own ages. Money a son earned inside his father's fraud is the trustee's first target, even after the son is dead.

Stories
46
Years
157 BCE to 2025
Main regions
North America, Europe, Middle East
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in money and markets, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett at the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit (cropped)2024 · Omaha, Nebraska, USAWarren Buffett's will once named the Gates Foundation; he removed it in 2024 and stopped his lifetime gifts to it in 2026Warren Buffett began giving away his Berkshire Hathaway shares under a 2006 pledge. The Gates Foundation was his largest recipient and was once named in his will.wowt.com and 4 moreBernie Madoff: Bernard Madoff 2009 mug shot (3x4 cropped)2021 · Butner, North Carolina, USA; New York, USABernie Madoff died in prison, his sons' estates gave up their fortunes, and the trustee recovered $15.5 billionBernard Madoff's investment advisory business in New York was a Ponzi scheme. His sons, Mark and Andrew, ran the firm's trading businesses.madofftrustee.com and 3 moreEl Chapo: Booking photo of Joaquin “El Chapo“ Guzman (front)2019 · Brooklyn, New York, USA; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Culiacán, SEl Chapo was ordered to forfeit $12.6 billion, and two of the sons who inherited his cartel faction pleaded guilty in ChicagoJoaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán led the Sinaloa cartel. He was extradited to the United States in 2017.api-prod.gothamist.com and 2 moreWhitey Bulger: Whitey Bulger US Marshals Service Mug12018 · Santa Monica, California, USA; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; HWhitey Bulger hid $822,000 in the walls of his Santa Monica flat, and the Marshals sold his belongings for his victims' familiesJames "Whitey" Bulger fled Boston in 1994 after his FBI handler tipped him that he was about to be indicted. He was on the run for more than 16 years.CBS News and 3 moreAl Capone: "Scarface" Al Capone is shown here at the Chicago Detective bureau following his arrest on a vagrancy charge as Public Enemy No. 1 in this 8 x 10 black & white origi1947 · Palm Island, Miami Beach, Florida, USA; Chicago, Illinois, UAl Capone went to prison for tax evasion and paid every cent, a live TV search for his vault found nothing, and his family sold his pistol for $860,000The Treasury Department built the case that ended Al Capone's career. He was convicted of income tax evasion on 18 October 1931.fbi.gov and 3 moreMeyerlansky: Meyer Lansky, mugshot of New York Police Departement1983 · Miami Beach, Florida, USA; Herzliya, IsraelThe FBI believed Meyer Lansky had $300 million hidden; he died in Miami with less than $35,000 in the bankMeyer Lansky, born in Grodno in 1902, was called the Mob's accountant. He worked with Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel, helped build the Mob's casinos in Las Vegas and Havana, and controlled casinos in the Bahamas and London.themobmuseum.org and 2 moreNawaz Sharif: Official Photograph of Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan taken by his personal photographer Z A Balti, released for public domain.2004 · Park Lane, London, England; Islamabad, Pakistan; British VirA Qatari prince's letter said Nawaz Sharif's father had willed his Gulf profits to a grandson, and courts fought for six years over four Park Lane flatsFour flats at Avenfield House on Park Lane were owned by Nielsen Enterprises and Nescoll Limited, companies registered in the British Virgin Islands in 1994 and 1993.offshoreleaks.icij.org and 4 moreJean-Claude Duvalier: Photo re-centrée de Jean-Claude Duvalier à partir du fichier Baby Doc.jpg2014 · Port-au-Prince, Haiti; SwitzerlandSwitzerland's top court ruled that Baby Doc's family could have his frozen millions hours before the Haiti earthquake, and parliament passed a law to stop itJean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier inherited power from his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, at 19 in 1971. A popular uprising ended their 28 years of rule in 1986, and he went into exile in France.swissinfo.ch and 3 moreCastelvetrano, Chiesa Madre: Castelvetrano, Chiesa Madre2023 · Palermo, Castelvetrano and L'Aquila, ItalyMatteo Messina Denaro owned nothing on paper when he was caught after 30 years on the run, and gave his surname to his daughter weeks before he diedMatteo Messina Denaro, son of a Mafia boss from Castelvetrano in Sicily, headed the town's Cosa Nostra clan. He played a role in the 1993 bomb attacks in Florence, Rome and Milan that killed 10 people. He spent 30 years on the run.open.online and 2 moreHenry Street Settlement 263-267 Henry Street: 263-267 Henry Street between Montgomery and Grand Streets in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City are part of the Henry Str2016 · Brooklyn, New York, USAA legal secretary bought the same stocks as her bosses for decades and left more than $8 million to scholarships, and her husband may not have knownSylvia Bloom grew up in Brooklyn during the Depression and earned a Hunter College degree at night. In 1947 she joined the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as a secretary.CBS News and 3 moreConstruction signs Brooks Memorial Library 224 Main Street downtown Brattleboro VT September 2026: Construction signs on sidewalk at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street in dow2014 · Brattleboro, Vermont, USAA Vermont gas station attendant and janitor left more than $8 million in stocks, and his stepson had no ideaRonald Read grew up in Dummerston, Vermont, and served in the Army in Italy in the Second World War.rutlandherald.com and 2 moreMap of Missouri, marked on the globe2013 · St. Louis, Missouri, USATwo brothers bought life insurance to keep their company in the family, and the Supreme Court counted the payout in the dead brother's estateMichael and Thomas Connelly were the only shareholders of Crown C Supply, a small building supply company in St. Louis. Michael owned 77.18 percent and Thomas 22.82 percent.Supreme Court of the United States and 2 moreWegelin Hauptgebäude St Gallen Front: Bankhaus Wegelin & Co. in St. Gallen, Schweiz2012 · St. Gallen, Switzerland; New York, USASwitzerland's oldest bank took the American clients UBS dropped, pleaded guilty in New York, and closed after 272 yearsCaspar Zyli, a linen merchant, founded the firm in St. Gallen in 1741. It took the name Wegelin & Co. in 1893. It was a partnership whose senior partners were personally liable, and their names were part of its legal name.justice.gov and 2 moreLake Forest College autumn: Photo of Lake Forest College. By Henry Salas.2010 · Lake Forest, Illinois, USAA secretary bought three Abbott shares for $180 in 1935, never sold them, and left $7 million to Lake Forest CollegeGrace Groner graduated from Lake Forest College in 1931. Wikipedia says she and her twin sister, Gladys, were orphaned when Grace was 12 and that George Anderson, a local figure, paid for both sisters' college.lakeforest.edu and 3 moreMap of California, marked on the globe2008 · California, USAA son used his dying mother's power of attorney to move $10 million into a partnership and a charity trust a week before she died, and the Tax Court undid itNancy Powell was terminally ill and incapacitated in August 2008. Her son Jeffrey held her power of attorney, which allowed gifts only up to the federal annual exclusion.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com and 2 moreUBS Headquarters, Zurich (Ank Kumar, Infosys Limited) 03: UBS Headquarters, Zurich (Ank Kumar, Infosys Limited)2008 · Geneva, Switzerland; Washington, D.C., USAA UBS banker told the US how the bank hid Americans' money, went to prison for 31 months, and the IRS paid him $104 millionBradley Birkenfeld, an American, was a private banker for UBS in Geneva.csmonitor.com and 2 moreAvarua waterfront, Rarotonga, Cook Islands: Avarua waterfront, Rarotonga, Cook Islands in 2003 - excellent shoreline protection1998 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Rarotonga, Cook IslandsA couple put their Ponzi commissions in a Cook Islands trust that locked when they were sued, and a US judge jailed them for six monthsMichael and Denyse Anderson ran Financial Growth Consultants, a San Diego telemarketing firm. It sold $5,000 shares in late-night television ads for products such as talking pet tags, promising 50 percent returns in 60 to 90 days.search.ftc.gov and 3 moreYeshiva University Stern College for Women 253 Lexington Avenue: 253 Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 35th Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City,1995 · New York City, New York, USAAn IRS auditor who said she was held back as a Jewish woman left $22 million in stock to Yeshiva University, a school she had no ties toAnne Scheiber worked as an auditor at the Internal Revenue Service. J. Weekly reported that her highest salary there was $3,150 a year.jweekly.com and 2 moreMap of Texas, marked on the globe1994 · Waco, Texas, USAA son-in-law moved 98 percent of a dying Texan's fortune into a family partnership the day after a "Fortress Plan" seminar, and the IRS taxed all of itAlbert Strangi signed a power of attorney in 1988 naming his son-in-law, Michael Gulig, as his agent.FindLaw Caselaw and 1 moreDowntown Bentonville at Blue Hour: Terry Block Building and Walton 5&10 in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas at blue hour1993 · Washington, D.C., USA (US Tax Court)Audrey Walton put about $200 million of Wal-Mart stock into two trusts reported as gifts worth nothing, and the Tax Court ruled for her against the IRSAudrey J. Walton was the former wife of the brother of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. In 1990 Congress replaced a trust it had called abusive with the grantor retained annuity trust, or GRAT.irs.gov and 2 more1907 Saint-Gaudens double eagle high relief obverse: Obverse of 1907 high relief Saint-Gaudens double eagle1990 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAA jeweller's daughter found ten 1933 gold double eagles in his safe-deposit box, handed them to the Mint to authenticate, and the government kept themIn 1933 the Philadelphia Mint struck 445,500 Saint-Gaudens $20 gold pieces. Roosevelt's orders that spring stopped banks paying out gold, and none were issued. By 1937 all were supposed to have been melted.cdn.sanity.io and 3 moreSamuel Newhouse: Undated photo of Samuel Newhouse, business person in the mining industry1979 · Staten Island, New York, USAThe IRS valued Samuel Newhouse's newspaper shares at $1.32 billion and sought a $305 million fraud penalty, and the Tax Court sided with his sonsSamuel I. Newhouse bought the Staten Island Advance in 1922 and built it into Advance Publications, a private newspaper and magazine company. He died on 29 August 1979.case-law.vlex.com and 2 morePalais Wittgenstein 01: Palais Wittgenstein Musiksalon1939 · Vienna, Austria; Switzerland; New York, USAThe Wittgenstein siblings gave the Reichsbank their Swiss-held fortune in 1939 for "half-Jewish" status, and Vienna paid Paul's heirs €7,400 in 2008After the Anschluss in 1938, the children of Karl Wittgenstein were classed as Jews under the Nuremberg Laws because of their ancestry, though three of their grandparents had converted to Christianity.entschaedigungsfonds.org and 3 moreUBS Headquarters, Zurich (Ank Kumar, Infosys Limited) 01: UBS Headquarters, Zurich (Ank Kumar, Infosys Limited)1939 · Zurich, Switzerland; Brooklyn, New York, USASwitzerland made bank secrecy a crime in 1934, and the night guard who took bank files from a UBS shredder in 1997 had to seek asylum in the United StatesSwiss banks long said the 1934 bank secrecy law was written to protect money deposited by Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Historian Sébastien Guex of the University of Lausanne calls that account propaganda.daily.jstor.org and 3 moreContract of the Hukuang Railway Bond: Contract of the Imperial Chinese Government 5% Hukuang Railways Sinking Fund Gold Loan of 19111911 · Northern District of Alabama, USANine Americans won $41.3 million from China on 1911 imperial railway bonds, and the judgment was set aside after Beijing protestedIn May 1911 the Qing government issued 5 percent Hukuang Railways bearer bonds for a £6 million loan to build railways in central south China. The dynasty fell at the end of that year.case-law.vlex.com and 3 moreNajib Razak: Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak2025 · Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, MalaysiaNajib Razak's stepson made The Wolf of Wall Street with money from Malaysia's state fund, and Najib was given 15 more years in prisonNajib Razak, the son of a prominent political family, set up the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad soon after becoming prime minister in 2009 and chaired its advisory board.jamaica-gleaner.com and 3 moreBank of England Building, London, UK - Diliff: The Bank of England building viewed Lombard Street.2020 · Caracas, Venezuela; London, EnglandVenezuela's 31 tonnes of gold have sat in the Bank of England through two rival governments, a captured president and an earthquakeThe Central Bank of Venezuela holds about 31 tonnes of gold in the Bank of England's vaults.supremecourt.uk and 4 moreHosni Mubarak: Hosni Mubarak - Official Photo (cropped)2020 · Cairo, Egypt; Bern, SwitzerlandSwitzerland froze 700 million francs tied to Mubarak's circle in 2011, and after 11 years released the last 400 million to its ownersHosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for three decades until the 2011 uprising.publiceye.ch and 3 moreScaffolding, under Blackfriars Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 3472781: Scaffolding, under Blackfriars Bridge1982 · Blackfriars Bridge, London, England; Rome, ItalyGod's banker was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge with bricks in his pockets, and the Vatican bank paid $250 million to his bank's creditorsRoberto Calvi became general manager of Banco Ambrosiano in 1971 and chairman in 1975.NBC News and 2 moreJuan Negrín 1938 (cropped): Juan Negrín in 1938.1956 · Cartagena, Spain; Odessa and Moscow, USSR; Paris, FranceSpain's gold went to Moscow in 1936; when Negrín died, his son gave Franco the receipts, and Moscow said the money was all goneIn September 1936 Juan Negrín became Finance Minister of the Spanish Republic. He ordered much of the Bank of Spain's gold sent to the Soviet Union. Four ships left Cartagena on 25 October 1936 and reached Odessa on 2 November.enciclopedia.cat and 3 moreErnst Abbe: Ernst Abbe (HeidICON 29803) (cropped)1905 · Jena, GermanyErnst Abbe gave the Zeiss works to a foundation, and after 1945 a western and an eastern Zeiss sued each other over the name for 17 yearsCarl Zeiss founded an optical workshop in Jena in 1846. Physicist Ernst Abbe became his partner in 1875. Zeiss died on 3 December 1888. On 19 May 1889 Abbe founded the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung and named it after him.carl-zeiss-stiftung.de and 2 moreYoung-Anleihe 1930 1000$: Amerikanische Tranche der Young-Anleihe: Deutsches Reich (Internationale Anleihe des Deutschen Reiches 1930 - German Government International Loan 1930) 51919 · Berlin, GermanyGermany paid the last interest on its 1920s reparation loans on 3 October 2010, 92 years after the First World War endedThe 1919 Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for the war and required reparations. In 1921 the total was set at 132 billion marks.peacepalacelibrary.nl and 2 moreEmprunt Russe 500 fr 1894: Scan d'un document original, datant de 1894 : titre au porteur portant le n° 301021. Obligation d'État de 125 Roubles-or, soit 500 francs-or, montant le 1917 · Paris, FranceRussia repudiated the tsar's bonds, France settled for $400 million in 1997, and the holders' association tried to seize a Russian sailing ship and a cathedralFrom 1888 to 1914 Paris sold Russian Empire loans to French savers. The first large issue, on 10 December 1888, was 500 million francs at 4 percent. About 15 billion gold francs went in over thirty years.moneyvox.fr and 3 moremonnaie : Monaco, Louis II, 500 francs, 1934: Sujet : Numismatique médiévale Monaco Ancien possesseur : Beistegui, Charles de (1895-1970). Ancien possesseur Appartient à l’ensemble1842 · Jackson, Mississippi, USAFamilies who had inherited unpaid Mississippi bonds for 90 years gave them to the Prince of Monaco to sue, and the Supreme Court said a foreign state cannotIn the 1830s Mississippi backed its banks with state bonds. The Planters' Bank bonds were dated 1 March 1833 and paid 6 percent.Cornell Law School, LII and 2 moreEdward Gibbon: Edward Gibbon title QS:P1476,en:"Edward Gibbon "label QS:Len,"Edward Gibbon "label QS:Lbn,"এডওয়ার্ড গিবন"1736 · Putney, London, EnglandParliament confiscated South Sea director Edward Gibbon's £106,543 in 1721 and left him £10,000; he rebuilt the fortune and willed it past his sonEdward Gibbon had a fortune of £60,000 when he became a director of the South Sea Company. In early August 1720 the company's stock reached about 1,000 percent of par. It fell to 700 by 2 September and later to 135.Project Gutenberg and 3 moreAncient Yapese stone money: Monnaies de pierre alignées contre un mur de pierre sèche, municipalité de Rull, Îles Yap1910 · Yap, Federated States of Micronesia; PalauOn Yap, a family stayed rich for generations on a stone coin lying at the bottom of the seaYap's stone money, called rai or fei, is carved limestone wheels from a foot to about twelve feet across, quarried in Palau and brought back by canoe and raft. Ownership passes by agreement.Internet Archive and 2 moreFragata ARA Libertad (Q-2): Fragata ARA Libertad (Q-2).2001 · Tema, GhanaA hedge fund had Argentina's navy training ship held in Ghana for 11 weeks over defaulted bondsArgentina defaulted on its foreign bonds in 2001. About 50,000 Italian individuals who held its bonds were organised by Task Force Argentina and took their claims to ICSID arbitration in 2007.maritime-executive.com and 3 moreMap of South Korea, marked on the globe1996 · Seoul, South KoreaSamsung's heir and his three siblings bought Everland bonds at 7,700 won a share in 1996, two executives were convicted, and their father was cleared on that chargeSamsung Everland was the closely held company at the top of the Samsung group's ownership chain. In December 1996 it issued 9.6 billion won of convertible bonds.Korea JoongAng Daily and 3 moreCity of Glasgow Bank cheque1877: A cleared cheque from 1877, the year before the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank1873 · Glasgow and Edinburgh, ScotlandTrustees holding a dead man's bank shares for his daughters were made personally liable when the City of Glasgow Bank failedJohn Murdoch died in 1873 holding £6,000 of City of Glasgow Bank stock.vlex.co.uk and 4 moreIsma'il Pasha: Portrait of Isma'il Pasha (1830–1895), Khedive of Egypt.1863 · Cairo, EgyptKhedive Ismail sold Egypt's Suez Canal shares to Britain for £4 million in 1875, and the Ottoman sultan deposed him four years laterIsmail succeeded his uncle Said as ruler of Egypt in 1863 and inherited his public and private debts.legislation.gov.uk and 3 moreDe Lekdijk bij Hagestein dicht bij de stuw: Koolzaadtijd, dan is het zeker mooi op de Lekdijk in Hagestein niet ver van de stuw en het begin van de mooie Hoeveweg en ook niet ver v1648 · Utrecht, NetherlandsA Dutch water board still pays interest on dike bonds sold in 1638 and 1648, and Yale collected 12 years of it in 2015On 31 December 1624 ice and high water broke the Lek river dike near Tull en 't Waal, and the flood reached Rotterdam and Amsterdam.coinbooks.org and 2 moreLe cadavre de Jean de Montagu détaché de la potence par son fils. G: Auteur(s): Langlois, Philibert, graveur Marck, dessinateur Autre titre: De 1226 à 1469 / De l'avènement de St L1409 · Paris and Marcoussis, Essonne, FranceFrance's grand master was beheaded and hung at Montfaucon; his son won back his name and body, then died at AgincourtJean de Montaigu rose from royal secretary to grand master of the royal household under Charles VI of France. From the income of his offices he built a fortune.herodote.net and 4 morePhilip IV of France: Philip IV of France 1285-13141315 · Montfaucon, Paris, FrancePhilip IV's treasurer was hanged on the Montfaucon gallows he had built, and the king who let him hang left legacies to his childrenEnguerrand de Marigny was chamberlain to Philip IV of France. In 1313 and 1314 he ran the royal treasury and the new audit office, the chambre des comptes.Encyclopaedia Britannica and 2 moreLiu Jin: Liu Jin (1885-?)1510 · Beijing, ChinaThe eunuch who ran the Ming government was searched in front of the emperor, who found millions in silver and false sealsLiu Jin was castrated as a boy to enter imperial service and took the name of the eunuch who sponsored him. He served the heir to the Ming throne.Encyclopaedia Britannica and 2 moreS-93 W Han banliang, Wendi, 179-157 BC, 24mm: The front and reverse sides of a metal coin, 24 mm in diameter, issued during the reign of Emperor Wen (r. 180–157 BCE) of the early H157 BCE · Yandao, Shu (Ya'an, Sichuan), and Chang'an (XiEmperor Wen gave his favourite a copper mountain and the right to mint coins; the next emperor took everything, and he died owning nothingDeng Tong was a boatman from Nan'an in Shu. The Book of Han says Emperor Wen dreamed a boatman pushed him up to heaven, found Deng Tong with a torn coat like the man in the dream, and favoured him from that day.zh.wikisource.org and 2 moreTankiziyya, before 1920: Tankiziyya, before 19201340 · Alexandria, Egypt; Damascus, SyriaThe sultan had his viceroy of Syria arrested, killed and stripped of his fortune; three years later the viceroy's grandson was sultan and his body came home to DamascusTankiz was a mamluk, a slave soldier, who served Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad from 1299. In 1312 the sultan made him viceroy of Syria, based in Damascus.sussex.ac.uk and 2 more