Vince McMahon sells World Wrestling stock for estate planning

by | May 18, 2016 | Estate Planning |

Ex-pro wrestler and World Wrestling Entertainment CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon will sell 2,191,894 shares of his company’s stock valued at nearly $40 million. The shares he plans to sell represent 6 percent of the outstanding WWE stock. WWE announced that the shares were sold for the benefit of McMahon and his family and for estate planning purposes.

The Class A WWE stock shares were sold by the Vince K. McMahon 2013 Irrev. Trust (a.k.a. the GRAT). The GRAT was created by McMahon for the purpose of estate planning and to benefit himself and specific members of his family. According to WWE, the stock sale was done for diversification and liquidity purposes. The GRAT still owns 1,547,372 shares of WWE Class B common stock. The GRAT might choose to liquidate its remaining shares at a later time. However, McMahon says that he will not be selling any other shares under his control and he will continue to serve as the WWE’s CEO and chairman.

Following the sale of millions of WWE stock, McMahon continues to own over 37 million shares of Class B WWE stock. Those shares give McMahon 86 percent of the voting power and about 48.8 percent ownership of the company’s total outstanding stock shares.

While everyone should have an estate plan in place, even if it’s simply a will. However, for wealthy individuals and business owners, estate planning generally requires a lot more planning and foresight. An irrevocable trust can be very helpful to New York residents in organizing their financial lives for themselves and their loved ones. New York residents with questions about irrevocable trusts and/or trust planning in general should speak with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Source: Wrestling Inc., “Vince McMahon Sells Nearly $40 Million Of WWE Stock For ‘Estate Planning Purposes’,” Raj Giri, May 17, 2016