Baseball pioneer George Steinbrenner, owner of the famed New York Yankees’ franchise, died from a heart attack on July 13, 2010, at age 80. Checking in at number 341 on Forbes’ list of richest Americans last year, the Steinbrenner fortune has been estimated at $1.1 billion.
Many publications, including the New York Post, have pointed out that, tax-wise, Steinbrenner chose a great year to die. Due to a quirk in the federal estate tax law, there are no estate taxes for those who die in 2010.
Those who died in 2009 paid a 45% tax for every dollar over $3.5 million ($7 million for married couples who did the proper estate tax planning). There are no estate taxes this year, but next year, the estate tax comes roaring back with only a $1 million exemption and a 55% tax rate.
As the Post article and others have pointed out, this led to a huge tax savings for Steinbrenner’s widow and four children of $500 million (based on 2009 levels)