News about Rockefeller

The article argues that the Rockefeller family has used irrevocable trusts set up in 1934 to keep wealth out of estate taxes across generations, since beneficiaries hold interests while the trustee holds title. It says newer families must use their exemption to get comparable protection, because the generation-skipping transfer tax applies to trusts created after the grandfathered date. For 2026 the basic exclusion is $15,000,000 per person, so a married couple can combine exemptions to fund a dynasty trust with $30 million without gift or GST tax. By contrast, it calculates that leaving the same $30 million outright through two generations at a 40% estate tax rate would cost $19.2 million. The trade-off, it says, is that lifetime gifts keep the original cost basis instead of a step-up at death.