Jack Gsantner was a childless widower that died of old age a few years ago in his early 80s. A collector of sorts. For example, 30 to 40 cases of cheap, Red White and Blue beer were found in his garage. In the attic of his modest decades old ranch style home, 600 rolls of toilet paper were stored. In addition, - he left behind several old cars, (6) in fact. None were valued in excess of $950, the newest of which was a '94 Buick. Our kind of 'car' guy. Jack was a WWII veteran of the U.S. Navy, and a 1948 graduate of Yale University. Jack spent his employment years as a 'lifer' clerk for the Union Pacific Railroad. He was a numbers guy. To fuel his passion as a musician and pick up a few bucks, he was the bass player in a smalltime dance band that stayed busy playing local gigs in his hometown for decades. Jack was known to be friendly enough, but rather quiet and guarded according to his bandmates. Reportedly a man tight with his money, he was also generous, but known to sneak his own cheap beer into restaurants, rather than buy at their prices. An only child, his father was a dentist in private practice, his mother owned and operated a small kennel for boarding dogs. When Jack died with an absence of family, the funeral home in charge of his final arrangements was appointed Personal Representative of the deceased man's estate. This isn't unusual, since the funeral home's interest in the estate had an unpaid fee of $3,100 for services rendered. When the personal representative started sifting through the contents of Jack's home valued at $127K to inventory the assets of the estate, stacks and stacks of records were discovered indicating many years of stock trading and mutual fund trades. There were also stock and fund ownership certificates. There were tons and tons of different stocks and funds - 80, all told. There were also records of 30 or so pieces of real estate once owned and sold over the years. There were (3) local banks with deposits of $100K each in cash accounts, among other bank accounts elsewhere. Ownership was found of a winter townhome retreat in Pima County Arizona, valued in the mid-$100K range. An investigative agency specializing in finding missing persons was employed to locate relatives (estate heirs) of Jack. Several were found located in various parts of the U.S. Of all the relatives, one cousin in Florida garnered the largest share of the estate, nearly $500K. Even though there was an old Will, and unfortunately because of the lack of tax planning, the estate which totaled $5.26 Million paid a hefty tax bill of $600K or so to the County. Neighbors were surprised and shocked to hear about their former neighbor's wealth. One quoted as saying; "he didn't look like he had a dime." Now, who says it doesn't pay to drive and hoard old cars?!

The other side of that is you can't take it with you. Might as well enjoy some of it. Even if it's not until later in life.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

guy was worth 5mil, died alone with no family around him and didn't have any kids.

On one hand, one can appreciate the thrift and eventual building of wealth he succeeding in doing, on the other, I would prefer to not die alone like that, even if I had less money.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Interesting story. If he was a true "numbers guy" the money was perhaps a troublesome side effect of his hobbies.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

He accumulated a bunch of crap that he apparently really didn't use or appreciate, then dropped dead. Touching story.

Excellent summary and no need for pesky paragraphs. Well done!

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Sounds like the guy lived life on his own terms. I find no quarrel with him.

I thought the reason for the penny-pinching was to afford the things you enjoy by not wasting money on things you didn't enjoy.

I like my 240D and my 126.

I don't want a 2014 Mercedes that looks like a 2014 BMW that looks like a 2014 Lexus.

If I had a trophy wife, she would have to have at least one flaw so I knew she was not a silicone kewpie doll or a Cylon.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Skid,
What County took 600k in death taxes? Or were they a conduit for State taxes?
Professional curiosity.

In law school one of the great legal terms taught in wills & trusts is "laughing heir." Since the law will go to great lengths to avoid any estate going to the state (escheat), often a distant relative who may have had no personal contact with the deceased or even aware of the family relationship will be the beneficiary . . . the laughing heir.

Well, he certainly has some very good taste.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

He could of at least drank High Life instead of RWB.....

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Here's a link to the story:

Omahan went to his grave with a secret: He was a millionaire - Omaha.com: OMAHA METRO

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

There was a similar local story from a few months back...

The Magowans – The Elderly Multi-Millionaire Twins Next Door - Hartford Courant


As Hattie often states, the people with the flashy house/cars are often the ones that have their credit cards maxed out with nothing saved up.

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

More than a measure of truth in that....

Had an elderly widow client back in the 90's, whose only decendents were 2 grandsons. Her neice & I were her co-POAs during life and co Execs after death. Her estate was something like 3.1 mil as I recall. As the stock market was roaring in those days and she had plenty of cash to see to very modest needs and personal care to the end, I was concerned with unnecessary wealth accumulation...and the related Estate Tax. Ended up gifting $300,000 in stock to each grandson and they eventually received about 1.2 mil each when she died a couple of years later.
We provided for 24/7 live in care for her last couple of years and she passed away peacefully in her own home.
A very sweet lady. Lived in a tiny house, no car, went out rarely. She used to give me a $20.00 tip when I'd go visit her to pick up her tax info.
Rest in peace, M.G.