In 1936, Henry Ford feared that if he died, his family would be forced to sell the Ford Motor Company (FMC) to pay the taxes on his estate. He created the Ford Foundation and planned to give it most of the stock in FMC. By naming trustees who were close to him, Ford hoped his family would be able to maintain control of the company he had created. Between 1936 and 1969, hundreds of successful entrepreneurs used this strategy to avoid estate taxes and maintain family control of their companies. They created some of the nation’s largest private foundations. In 1969, however, the Tax Reform Act eliminated this “loop hole.” The Act transformed American philanthropy and the idea of “donor intent” in the process. This Thursday, November 29 at 5:00 pm, Vantage Point president Eric Abrahamson will be presenting a paper on the 1969 Tax Reform Act at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
