Planning for athletes and entertainers

Professional athletes and celebrities have many of the same financial and estate planning needs that all wealthy clients have, but also experience unique circumstances that must be taken into account when crafting their personal financial plan. Surrounding the professional athlete or celebrity with an experienced team of advisors that regularly partners with professional athletes and celebrities and understands their particular circumstances can make a world of difference in helping the professional athlete and celebrity maximize their wealth over generations. While each professional athlete and celebrity is unique, they do tend to experience some similar life experiences that are particular to their careers.

Many celebrities and professional athletes are decades younger than the non-celebrity and non-professional athlete when they achieve the peak of their earning power. While the typical wealth creator may achieve their financial success in their 50s or even later, professional athletes and celebrities often are in their late teens or 20s when they reach the pinnacle of their athletic prowess or celebrity status. They simply have less life experience than the typical wealth creator, and this can lead them to make mistakes: perhaps overspending, placing their trust in the wrong team of advisors, neglecting to consider the impact of taxes on their wealth plan, or making ad hoc investment decisions without developing a plan. This can vary, but the change of financial circumstances often comes early and suddenly. While the athlete or celebrity may have worked for 10,000 hours or more to perfect their craft,¹ their transition from student-athlete or starving artist to highly compensated professional may come so quickly that they have had little time to prepare for their newfound wealth. Their youth may also cause them to live more in the moment than to plan for the future.

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¹ Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown and Company, 2008)