this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2024
35 points (103.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26896 readers
2371 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Hypothetically, if one were to seize the assets of, say a billionaire, what would that look like? Obviously, most of these forms are non-liquid. I'm looking for a purely financial perspective. Thanks.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

In the USA, government agencies like the IRS and FBI can order banks and other financial institutions (like brokers) to freeze your accounts so that you can't access the money. Under RICO, they can also take possession of your stuff like vehicles and such. They just show up with guns and badges and take it.

This is why some wealthy people squirrel money away in "numbered Swiss Bank accounts" that are outside US jurisdiction and much harder to identify who owns what. However, the international laws have changed over time and I believe it's far less convenient than it used to be.

The wealthy can always find a way to hide their money. Some are better at it than others.

A lot of them have legal insurance, too. For example, Theranos scumbag Elizabeth Holmes went bankrupt, but insurance pays for her exorbitant legal expenses.