Jon Stewart, the host of the liberal comedy show, "The Daily Show" is
known for bashing conservatives including those who are wealthy. For instance he went after Romney for his wealth. It turns out Stewart is also very wealthy and uses tricks of the trade to avoid paying taxes. For instance, he holds some of his luxurious homes in trust so he can avoid paying higher taxes.
Comedy Central host Jon Stewart regularly bashes American
multimillionaires for their wealth while ignoring the awkward fact that
he’s one of them.
Though Stewart distances himself from the “one-percenters” and bellows over their extravagance, his bank accounts bear all the marks of the “multi, multi, multi, multi millionaires”
he mocks. The 49-year-old Stewart, born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz,
makes more than 300 times the median American salary, owns three luxury
homes and sometimes doesn’t pay his taxes.
In January Stewart exploded on-air
over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s income level.
“That’s almost — that’s almost $57,000 a day!” he gushed.
But Stewart’s own income level brings him and his wife Tracey
approximately $41,000 a day. The celebrity income-handicapping website
Celebrity Net Worth lists his annual salary as $15 million and estimates his net worth at $80 million.
And then there are the houses. When Arizona Sen. John McCain ran for
president in 2008, he was criticized for not knowing how many houses he
owned. (The answer: seven.) Stewart is well on his way to McCain
country, with three opulent mansions whose combined value is $12.8
million.
\He doesn’t technically own those homes: Using a trick mastered by
countless one-percenters, the properties were purchased by private
trusts. Stewart’s trusts are named after his pets.
The super-wealthy often make big-ticket purchases through trusts in
order to protect their other assets from lawsuits, diminish estate tax
liability, and avoid public scrutiny.
The satirist started his real estate empire in 2005 when The Stanley
Monkey Trust — named after his cat Stanley and one of his pit bull
terriers, Monkey — purchased a two-story Manhattan penthouse for $5.8
million.
That deluxe apartment in the sky spans 6,000-square-feet and has 40
windows, a 600-foot terrace, and a 1,200-foot private roof, the New York
Observer reported in 2005.
Another legal entity, The Shamsky Monkey Trust, purchased two more
houses in 2009 and 2010. (Shamsky, named after 1969 “Miracle Mets”
outfielder Art Shamsky, is Stewart’s other pit bull terrier.)
The lakefront mansions Stewart bought in 2009 and 2010 are in Red
Bank, New Jersey. They cost him $3,800,000 and $3,200,000 and — for
reasons TheDC was unable to determine — are next door to one another.
Online real estate search engines show that the Shamsky Monkey Trust also owns a $675,000 house in North Haven, New York. Public records indicate that Stewart’s older brother, Lawrence Leibowitz, lives there.
With serious wealth often come serious tax problems. In January the
comedian blasted Romney for paying a 15-percent tax rate on his
earnings, most of which come from capital gains on stocks and other
securities.
I guess when you avoid higher taxes it's OK but when you're a conservative and do it it's not OK.
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