Episodes

Conrad Hilton got his start in hospitality at his family’s general store in the New Mexico Territory. Years later, he established the largest hotel chain in the world, Hilton Hotels. After his death, Conrad left much of his estate to the Conrad Hilton Foundation — until his son decided to contest the will. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by David Bokman, Managing Director and Head of Family Office Resource at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and Andrea Levine-Sanft, Managing Director and...

The war between Russia and Ukraine is upsetting what many thought to be a well-established world order. The ripples of the conflict are being felt thousands of miles away, as the global economy struggles to recalibrate on the fly. The return of war to Europe reinforces the need for clients to have a backup plan in place to protect their families and their assets. Exploring alternative citizenship is a powerful, and often underexplored tool in this regard. In this episode, David Lenok is joined b...

Michael Nesmith, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist and member of the popular group The Monkees passed away in December 2021. His will stated he wished to donate his entire estate to his mother’s foundation—however, there was one complication to the legality of the document. Nesmith’s will was hand written. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Megan Gorman, founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, to discuss holographic wills and the legalities surrounding handwritten documents...

Named the Greatest Rock Star Ever after his death, David Bowie is a singer, songwriter and actor who left his mark on the world along with a $100 million dollar estate at the time of his death. Recently, his music catalog sold for a reported $250 million, higher than his initial estate value. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Stacie Jacobson, director of the wealth strategies group at AllianceBernstein, diving into the complexity of a music catalog as an asset for both the seller and buy...

Pat Bowlen was an American lawyer and partial owner of the Denver Broncos, along with his two brothers and sister. He served as the Broncos CEO until July 2014, when he stepped down due to progressive effects of Alzheimer’s disease, and passed away in 2019. His estate plan was unique due to the family trust in place, with the three trustees taking over in 2014 with the sole purpose of determining the next owner of the team. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Dan Griffith, senior vice pre...

Jay Leno spent 22 years hosting the “The Tonight Show” before being inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. His prized collection consists of approximately 286 vehicles: 169 cars and 117 motorcycles, all of which create a bit of a challenge when it comes to asset planning. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Peter Neumann, CEO and Steve Linden, CIO of Chrome Strategies, to discuss the planning that accompanies such a large collection of increasingly valuable assets. They reveal what to ...

From the mid 1920’s to his death in 1975, Aristotle Onassis embodied the phrase “many fingers in many pies” with businesses ranging from international shipping to less savory military hunters. Greek law limited how much could be granted to his American wife, Jackie O., after his death, regardless of his enormous legacy. With those limitations in mind, his distribution of his assets after death dealt with a multitude of clauses and arrangements for his daughter and charity foundations. In this ep...

David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis, chief investment officer and general counsel at Twin Focus, to discuss the struggles of determining inheritance with children from multiple partners and the legal and tax issues when children are taken into account. With over 74 million records sold worldwide and a lucrative career that took him in many directions, Earl Simmons, better known as rapper DMX, died in April 2021. He left behind a complex inheritance scenario with fifteen children, and his fi...

Encore Presentation David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Dr. Denise Federer, speaker, consultant, coach, psychologist, author, and founder of the Federer Performance Management Group (FPMG) as they discuss the impact of families not having those difficult conversations about their money and wealth. This episode focuses on an icon from Hollywood’s Golden Age, the legendary Audrey Hepburn. When Audrey passed in 1993, she left behind 2 sons – step brothers. As part of th...

In this episode’s encore presentation, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined once again by Megan Gorman, founding partner of Chequers Financial Management. Today’s celebrity example is Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director and producer, and father of three children with longtime girlfriend, Mimi. At the time of his death, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s only estate documentation was a will drafted by his real estate lawyer/CPA (not someone specializing in estate plann...

With a 4% stake in Amazon, MacKenzie Scott, formerly MacKenzie Bezos, is the third wealthiest woman in the United States. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Richard Peck, vice president of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and Jonathan Gassman, CEO of Gassman Financial Group. Richard and Jonathan discuss how she goes about charitable giving through a personal, philosophical and operational standpoint. They reveal tools and vehicles anyone can use when donating and how you can continue ...

From his home and liquid possessions to his image and royalty rights, settling Prince’s estate would have been a complex process, even with a will. But Prince did not have a will, and this led to one of the largest and most complex estate battles in Minnesota and even American history. However, the most mysterious part of Prince’s estate is the bank vault with a code that even Prince himself forgot. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Matthew Erskine of Erskine and Erskine revisiting the t...

Between his six children and his illiquid assets in Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk’s claim to give half of his fortune to charity falls short. Yet only a few small steps would be required to increase his charitable giving and arrange support for his family. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis of Twin Focus Capital. John shares his insight into the financial situation of Elon Musk, who was recently named the richest man in the world. John discusses Elon’s struggle to uphold his...

In 2008, following a very public breakdown, Britney Spears and her estate were placed under a conservatorship managed by her father, Jamie Spears. Now 13 years later, Britney is contesting the conservatorship. In this episode, David Lenok is joined once again by Megan Gorman from Chequers Financial Management. They dive into the legal wrangling of Birtney Spears’ estate and the conservatorship she is under. Megan discusses: The difference between a guardianship and a conservatorship Available o...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Robert Strauss, shareholder and director of Weinstock Manion, specializing in guiding high net worth families, business owners, and real estate developers through the complex process of estate and wealth transfer planning. Today’s celebrity example is the estate of legendary musician and American icon James Brown, including the fifteen years it took to settle his relatively simple estate. David and Robert discuss h...

Many of us remember Chrisptopher Reeves for his unforgettable performance as the first Superman to appear on the big screen in 1978. But a lot of us forget his later years were spent as a parapelegic after a tragic horse accident. In this episode, David Lenok speaks with Gina Nelson about some of the different planning you can do to prepare if you or a loved one should become disabled, and what you can do today to set them up for after you’re gone. Gina discusses: The Christopher and Dana Reeve...

A trust might make complete sense. But when you add family dynamics to the equation, chaos can ensue. This is exactly what happened when a millionaire decided to remove two of his biological grandchildren from his multi-million dollar trust plan. In this episode, David Lenok is joined by returning guest Megan Gorman, a founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, to talk about the recent estate case concerning multi-millionaire Peter Bing disinheriting two grandchildren, Damien Hurley and ...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Barbara Archer, managing director and partner at Hightower. David and Barbara speak about Barbra’s story of researching, purchasing and preserving art that can be shared with the world. Today’s celebrity example begins with Lilly Pulitzer. Lilly quickly grew to fame through her fashion and bright coloured designs. But, an individual so often forgotten in Lilly’s story is Suzie Zuzek. Suzie, the artist behind the des...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, sits down with Rick Kahler, president of Kahler Financial Group, as they dive into the subconscious mind around money. Today’s celebrity example is Warren Buffett and his interesting relationship with money. Buffett, once the most wealthy man in the world, now sits in 7th place. It was Buffett’s relationship with money that got him here – the idea that the wealthy have the duty to help fix the ills of society. We use Buffett to...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Dan Griffith, senior vice president and director of wealth strategy at Huntington Private Bank. Today’s celebrity example is brought to you by Clare Bronfman. We discuss Clare’s journey into using generational wealth to fund a company with negative ties. We use this infamous case to dissect how financial advisors can assist clients in building generational wealth that matters. Dan discusses: Why educating the next...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Rob Wermuth, senior partner and Kevin Donohue, partner at the Pennsylvania-based firm Legacy Planning about the intricacies of estate planning. Today’s celebrity estate example is brought to us by Playboy Magazine founder and figurehead Hugh Hefner. Through the use of trusts, prenups and taking care of business deals during his life, Hefner left his family and his legacy in a very good place to move on from followin...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Alex Weingarten, partner at Venable LLP, where he is a commercial trial lawyer who represents clients in all facets of entertainment, probate and business litigation. Today’s celebrity example is Aretha Franklin; we discussed her estate in episode 8 and at that time it was believed that she had left no will, therefore leaving her estate to be divided equally amongst her children. Since then, new developments have s...

David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, is joined by Jeff Fishman, founder and managing member of JSF Financial, a financial firm that specializes in working with high profile clients and those in the entertainment industry. Unlike our other episodes focusing on the estates of celebrities who have passed, this episode is all about advising those who are still living, and working to manage their estates. David and Jeff talk about how having a career with unstable income flows can be t...

In this episode, David Lenok, senior editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with returning guest Megan Gorman of Chequers Financial Management about the issues surrounding the celebrity estate of none other than legendary talk show host Larry King. There was an estate plan, multiple children from multiple marriages, a holographic will written after filing for divorce, and then Larry’s untimely death due to COVID-19 in 2021. David and Megan could talk for days about this celebrity estate. Listen ...