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Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

townandcountrymag.com

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Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#61

Post by UncleMeat »

nunez wrote: post #55

> Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their famil…

Totally outrageous.

"I want to give a ton of money to olympians but... they are too young and dumb to get it now and also they should get half of it after they die."

Unreal paternalism.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#62

Post by nulbyte »

conductr wrote: post #45
ex-aws-dude wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if he retains the money while its growing wouldn't that result in capital gains? You can't claim a donation while still holding onto the money?

He'll donate to a trust/non-profit he controls that will direct the investment. That allows him to take the tax benefit today and keep the money

Not if he controls the funds. Tax deductions are only afforded to contributions if they are charitable and am actual gift. If the contributor benefits, it is bit deductible, and control of donated funds is a benefit, as is the ability to direct funds to a particular person or persons.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#63

Post by jimmydddd »

greggh wrote: post #50

The real answer here is that he is mad about people protesting what Israel is doing in Gaza. This $100M donation is being made with funds he had given to UPenn. He has taken it back, via lawyers, because they allowed the protests to go on. He is now just taking that original donation and moving it somewhere else. Not that I am against the Olympians getting paid, just some context. Sources: https://philanthropynewsdig…

This answer is correct.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#64

Post by jimmydddd »

reactordev wrote: post #12

Check the fine print

I remember in the 1980's, some rich guy gave a commencement speech in which he said he would pay for college for the entire graduating class in some high school in NJ. He got great press from this. But then it turned out in the fine print that the kids had to max out student loans, and he would cover the difference for tuition, but not including room and board. :-)

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#65

Post by winddude »

apparent wrote: post #11
zck wrote: post #10

> “I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens said upon the announcement of his gift. So his goal is to prevent money issues from being a thing getting in the way of athletes achieving. But he has structured it in a way that prevents the money from helping this goal. > Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20…

It allows them to "income smooth". They will know they're getting $100k down the road, so they can count on having that money to use for their kids' college or part of their nest egg. In the meantime, they can spend more freely. As for the gift to their heirs, that also allows them to consume somewhat more freely, instead of purchasing (as much) life insurance. Most young people don't, but people who compete in dange…

lol, what?

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#66

Post by prakhar897 »

> Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away.

The terms are atrocious. imo dude will move money into a his own charity which will hold onto it since no athlete qualify for the next 20 years. After a few years, he will quietly cancel the grant and use it elsewhere.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#67

Post by snowwrestler »

dataflow wrote: post #56
godelski wrote: post #53

Kinda of a side note but a way I try to talk to people about how much a billion dollars is is "how many people can you hire each day at X dollars before you start losing money". Here's the setup: you have a billion dollars invested in some account earning some interest, let's say 5% because that's like bond rates (lower than S&P500). Day 1 you generate interest and don't hire. All following weekdays you hire a new em…

You'd need to account for inflation right?

Just use a real rate of return and it still works.

However, 5% real return is not likely from bonds alone.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#68

Post by an0malous »

greggh wrote: post #50

The real answer here is that he is mad about people protesting what Israel is doing in Gaza. This $100M donation is being made with funds he had given to UPenn. He has taken it back, via lawyers, because they allowed the protests to go on. He is now just taking that original donation and moving it somewhere else. Not that I am against the Olympians getting paid, just some context. Sources: https://philanthropynewsdig…

I would have never guessed that a significant portion of western society would not only be ok with killing thousands of children but be outraged that anyone would protest it. I feel like I have more information about the world than ever and understand it less than ever.

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#69

Post by linehedonist »

zck wrote: post #10

> “I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens said upon the announcement of his gift. So his goal is to prevent money issues from being a thing getting in the way of athletes achieving. But he has structured it in a way that prevents the money from helping this goal. > Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20…

Is there any guarantee he will actually pay out in 20 years? Is this money going into escrow, or is this just a promise that will be completely forgotten in a couple decades?

Re: Ross Stevens Donates $100M to Pay Every US Olympian and Paralympian $200k

#70

Post by winddude »

zck wrote: post #10

> “I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens said upon the announcement of his gift. So his goal is to prevent money issues from being a thing getting in the way of athletes achieving. But he has structured it in a way that prevents the money from helping this goal. > Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20…

> So his goal is to prevent money issues from being a thing getting in the way of athletes achieving. But he has structured it in a way that prevents the money from helping this goal.

Yup, the biggest challenge faced by most olympic athletes, and those doing an Olympic campaign, is affording to train, travel, gear, etc, especially in more niche sports, bobsleigh, etc.

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