After a yearlong fight with lung cancer, conservative radio show host, Rush Limbaugh, has passed away at the age of 70. Limbaugh was on the radio for almost 30 years and experts project that he was making anywhere between $33 – $85 million per year during the middle to end of his career. Further, it is believed that Limbaugh’s net worth was around $600 million at the time of his death.
A little over a decade ago, Rush Limbaugh commented on Steve Jobs’ no-tax estate plan after the tech mogul died. When reviewing Job’s estate plan, Limbaugh said that it was not a priority to leave any money behind and that if he spent all of his money and died broke, he would be happy. However, it is now clear that Limbaugh left a significant amount of money behind.
Though Limbaugh was married four times, he had no children and only leaves behind his latest wife, Kathryn Limbaugh, who is set to inherit his entire estate. Kathryn is decades younger than Rush so she will have a lot of decisions to make regarding his radio show and other assets.
The Non-Profit Thread
When structuring his estate plan, Limbaugh hired lawyers who would prioritize his desire to reduce estate taxes and shield his privacy. However, his estate planning desires were not kept completely private as we know that the commercial rights to his show and associated business are held in an LLC that is named after himself and his widow Kathryn. Kathryn Adams Rush Hudson Limbaugh = KARHL. KARHL Holdings LLC was formed in 2010, shortly after the couple got married. The LLC had only two employees, Rush and Kathryn. Additionally, the LLC’s address is the same as the couple’s charitable foundation. With so much asset value, Kathryn and her mother, the only two officers left on the charity, may choose to sell off the LLC and disperse the proceeds through the charity. However, if Kathryn decides to simply inherit these assets, she will receive the entire worth of the company.
Certain news outlets have suggested that Limbaugh wanted to remove Kathryn from his will. However, if true, he had plenty of time to carve up the holding company and wind down the foundation. Additionally, a prenuptial agreement is unlikely as the holding company was created after the two were married. However, without seeing the actual documents, it is impossible to know exactly what Rush has planned for his assets.
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