$20 MILLION SHOULD CREATE LEGACY WEALTH! RIGHT?
Disclaimer: Good Day, Readers. WealthBuildingPowers blog is a financial literacy/competency blog and does not provide specific investment recommendations.
A WRONG RIGHTED: A century after its seizure, Bruce’s Beach will be returned to its rightful owners!
BY GALE HOLLANDSTAFF WRITER
JUNE 29, 2022, 6:30 AM PT
“Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, June 29, and I’m staff writer Gale Holland, filling in from Los Angeles for Justin Ray.
With a unanimous vote Tuesday by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the Bruce family will soon reclaim rights to the oceanfront land that bears their name, nearly 100 years after they were run out of Manhattan Beach. The transfer could be the start of more widespread steps by governments to rectify historical injustices based on race.
By 1912, Charles and Willa Bruce were in California. Willa purchased two lots by the sand in Manhattan Beach and ran a popular lodge, cafe, and dance hall that lent a rare welcome to Black beachgoers. Other Black families followed the Bruces, buying and building their own cottages by the sea.
But the Bruces and their guests faced increasing threats from white neighbors. The Ku Klux Klan and local real estate agents purportedly plotted ways to harass them.
When racism failed to drive this Black beach community out of town, city officials in 1924 condemned the neighborhood known as Bruce’s Beach and seized more than two dozen properties through eminent domain, claiming a park was urgently needed. For decades, the land sat empty. The Bruces’ two parcels were transferred to the state in 1948, then to L.A. County in 1995; Manhattan Beach eventually turned the other lots into a park.
The lots bought by Willa Bruce over a century ago will now enter escrow and be transferred to the Bruce family, which will rent the property to the county for $413,000 a year. The county also retains a right to later buy the property for $20 million.
A grass-roots group is pushing for similar reparations for five other Black California families in Santa Monica, Palm Springs, Coloma, Hayward, and Canyon with stories similar to the Bruces’. And Indigenous communities — including the local Tongva, Acjachemen, and Tataviam — are also calling for the future return of their ancestral lands.
For Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Charles and Willa Bruce, the last two years of organizing for this day have been a jumble of emotions.
“Many families across the United States have been forced away from their homes and lands,” he said. “I hope that these monumental events encourage such families to keep trusting and believing that they will one day have what they deserve.” “
I’m Rich – At least for a couple of days
By George Wong
Here’s the story. Let’s look at what happens if the family does not hire the right counsel and accountants.
The above article says the family will get $413,000 per year in rent. Let’s assume that is a gross rent agreement (I can’t tell for sure)
Look’s like the valuation of the property by the assessor’s office is $20,000,000. The first-year real estate taxes would be ($1.3%) $260,00
Without proper structurings, such as using a triple net lease, the family could have an income statement that looks like this:
Revenue $413,000
Expenses
Real Estate Taxes ($260,000)
Insurance ($ 50,000) probable minimum – beach area, is considered “attractive nuisance”
Bank Fees ($ 240)
Accounting Fees ($ 2,400)
Legal Fees ($ 2,400)
Misc Expenses ($ 2,600)
_________
Leaves a net Income of $95,360.00 split between families before income taxes.
Another article indicates a real estate attorney did the case pro-bono. Hopefully, the attorney structured this as a triple net lease getting the County to pay the Real Estate Taxes and the Insurance, putting $310,000 back into the family’s revenue line, bringing the net profit to $405,360 between families and their income taxes.
They should retain appropriate legal and accounting counsel to structure the deal to minimize taxes if they decide to sell. It may behoove them to use an irrevocable trust to create a substantial annual income stream for the families for years to come and develop the legacy wealth they can build to magnify the wealth. The story is about turning the lottery wins into wealth building and, ultimately, legacy wealth for the ages.
[Read the story: “‘We are finally here’: Plan to return Bruce’s Beach wins unanimous approval”]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: George Wong – Senior Advisor at Shark Wheel LLC and Senior Advisor at Intex Industries (Xiamen) Co., Ltd
George Wong is semi-retired and continues to work as senior advisor to two companies, owner-manager of the family’s commercial and multifamily real estate, board member in two non-profit educational organizations, and manager of several stock and bond portfolios for extended family. His professional career included stints at Price WaterhouseCoopers as a management consultant, a commercial real estate firm as developer/portfolio manager, a commercial printing company as COO, a legal document management systems start-up as V.P. Operations, RR Donnelley Financial Print as Plant Manager, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as Finance Manager, Intex Plastics Division as Senior Advisor, and Shark Wheel Inc as co-founder-CFO-Senior Advisor. Out of college, he was a middle school teacher at Inglewood Unified Schools and worked for two federally-funded organizations advising minority-owned businesses. His previous community involvement included the turnaround of a Pasadena unit of the National Urban Coalition, board membership in the Pasadena chapter of the Urban League, and advisor to the California Senate Select Committee on Small Business Enterprises. George was raised in South Central Los Angeles, where his entire education, from elementary to graduate school, was obtained within a three-mile stretch on one street. He remains active in south Los Angeles as a board member at a state-funded child-care center for low-income parents that he helped found 40+ years ago and working with the tenants at the family’s commercial buildings to keep the tenants (all people of color and immigrants) in business. He has been married 40+ years and has two highly successful sons in business, following degrees at two ivy-league schools and the University of Michigan.
George has degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Education, and the MBA, all from the University of Southern California. George still competes in the 50 Meter and 100 Meter Dash. He is very proud to say that his understanding of the business world and finance comes from reading the Wall Street
Los Angeles County Votes to Return Beach Seized in 1924 From a Black Family
‘We are finally here’: Plan to return Bruce’s Beach wins unanimous approval
CONCLUSION
I recall an episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that explored the issue of poor money management among athletes. Athletes who earned staggering and life-changing amounts of money but quickly spent IT ALL.
Frank Deford explores the issue of poor money management as NFL players depart the league. http://itsh.bo/fC9Ctg.
My lesson from that episode was DO NOT listen to friends, family, your best buddies, etc., that have the equivalency of your financial literacy or even less.
Hire honest, legitimate, and competent advisors. Look for well-known and reputable estate planning attorneys who deal with multimillion estates. They will have a team of CPAs and can recommend legitimate investment firms. Most importantly, they can structure this settlement into legacy wealth, including setting aside funds for future generations’ education (trade, college, technical, etc.) that gives them a path to financial freedom.
I pray I never read an article about this family going from millionaires to BROKE!
WHAT SUBJECTS DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT? WHAT QUESTIONS CAN I ANSWER? UNTIL NEXT TIME!
LET’S MAKE SOME MONEY – CRYPTOCURRENCY IS ACCEPTED!
YOUR GREATNESS IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE; IT’S WHAT YOU GIVE! – SOME CHARITIES I SUPPORT
St Jude Hospital: https://www.stjude.org/
Wounded Warrior Project: https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Folds of Honor: https://foldsofhonor.org
Wilson’s No-Kill Animal Shelter: https://wcnkas.org
TRUST ME – YOU WILL LIKE THE BELOW BLOGS!
BUILDING FINANCIAL FREEDOM/LEGACY TEN DOLLARS AT A TIME!
THE ROTH IRA IS SO GOOD. THE FEDS MADE A MISTAKE!
https://wealthbuildingpowers.com/2020/01/13/the-roth-ira-is-so-good-the-feds-made-a-mistake/
A ROTH IRA WILL IGNITE THE ENGINE FOR YOUR KID’S FINANCIAL FREEDOM
A ROTH IRA WILL IGNITE THE ENGINE FOR YOUR KIDS FINANCIAL FREEDOM
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID {KISS} – THE S&P 500 ETF INDEX
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID {KISS} – THE S&P 500 ETF INDEX
COMPOUND INTEREST IS THE EASIEST WAY TO DOUBLE OR TRIPLE YOUR MONEY
COMPOUND INTEREST IS THE EASIEST WAY TO DOUBLE OR TRIPLE YOUR MONEY
WARREN BUFFETT UTILIZED COMPOUND INTEREST TO BECOME THE 3RD RICHEST MAN ON THE PLANET!
WARREN BUFFETT UTILIZED COMPOUND INTEREST TO BECOME THE 3RD RICHEST MAN ON THE PLANET!
RETIREMENT PLANS OTHER THAN THE 401-K TO GENERATE > $1 MILLION PORTFOLIO!
RETIREMENT PLANS OTHER THAN THE 401-K TO GENERATE > $1 MILLION PORTFOLIO!
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE 401K PLAN MILLIONAIRE CLUB? {KINDA OF LIKE THE MILE HIGH CLUB – BUT A LOT LONGER LASTING!}
401-K YEAR-END SALE!
TURNING YOUR STIMULUS CHECK INTO MILLIONS $$$$!
https://wealthbuildingpowers.com/2021/03/22/turning-your-stimulus-check-into-financial-freedom/
SO YOU GOT A HUGE TAX REFUND – NOW WHAT?
SO YOU GOT A HUGE TAX REFUND – NOW WHAT?
YOUR BIGGEST RISK TODAY – A LONG LIFE!
YOUR BIGGEST RISK TODAY – A LONG LIFE!
INVESTING IN STOCKS IS COLOR BLIND – WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?
INVESTING IN STOCKS IS COLOR BLIND – WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?
FINANCIAL LITERACY IS JUST NOT THAT COMPLICATED – TRUST ME!
https://wealthbuildingpowers.com/2019/04/01/financial-literacy-is-just-not-that-complicated-trust-me/
THE NEED FOR EMERGENCY SAVINGS – IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER!
THE NEED FOR EMERGENCY SAVINGS – MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER!
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ABOUT ME
I am a proud nerd (as my beautiful wife and daughter have told me) investment and finance blogger with an N.C. State, Chemical Engineering, University Rutgers, MBA and Harvard University, Advanced Management education.
I left a corporate career because I desired to make a difference as a speaker and writer. I was blessed to be coached and mentored by strong women and men in my family and professional life. It is my time to serve and give back.
DISCLAIMER
I started my first business at ~13 years of age (a small but brilliantly created plant nursery). I am a successful investor in stocks, options, real estate and am happy to share my finance and investment lessons. I am NOT a licensed financial advisor. Please do not construe my suggestions on this blog as recommendations for your situation. As an investor, you must establish your risk/loss tolerance. Investment in any asset involves risk, including complete loss.
Please seek your licensed CPA or fiduciary financial advisors for individual financial advice.
I write this weekly blog to make an impact by reaching an audience and demonstrating the need for financial literacy. I will help you get there.
