Dennis Gilbert, Top Dodger Suitor, Got Rich Selling Tax Avoidance Schemes To The Super-Wealthy

I know Dennis Gilbert, he might be helping people as most of you have said, but you don't know him. If he were joe blow from down the street, you would not think so highly of him. Americans are so backwards. You admire the rich and famous. He has to be nice to keep his rich friends. He treats common folks like s*** and talks down to those who do not do his bidding. His generosity? It's called a tax break you morons. He might be a good money making shyster, but I would rather have a good honest friend when in a bind.

You should be ashamed of yourself stigmatizing someone who is legally following the law.   

i know dennis gilbert and i trust dennis gilbert.  as a matter of fact, dennis gilbert is someone to whom i would give my power of attorney to take care of my wife, children and my mother.  and he knows baseball as good as anyone in the country.... i echo the comment as others have written, you owe dennis gilbert a huge apology!!

You mean he helped people keep more of what they earned?  The devil.

I think your characterization of Dennis Gilbert is way OFF BASE (pun intended) and that he is owed an apology and a retraction before he sues you for LIBEL. He has been my insurance man for life insurance and disability insurance for over 30 yrs. His job is to advise and protect me and my family for our insurance needs to the best of his ability (which is substantial) for the eventual death of both me and my wife. I buy life insurance so that my wife will have the money TO PAY the death taxes on my demise. I can't believe there is anyone reading this, that does not want to LEGALLY avoid some tax consequences or find an honest way for their surviving spouse to pay taxes with the life insurance proceeds. so that the surviving spouse does not have to sell their home on the death of his/her loved one, to pay taxes.  That is what he does. Why vilify this professional insurance agent who is HONEST, COMPETENT and CARING? That is just not fair and not the American way.As an attorney, if Mr. Gilbert contacted me, I would take his case pro bono to sue you and your company for DEFAMATION of CHARACTER.........Please govern yourself accordingly and retract your comments...................

dale gribow.......attorney at law.........palm desert california.

I'm sure Mr. Gilbert got some great tax loops when he donated baseball fields to inner city kids, I'm glad he did it, because we need it. But at what expense does the middle class have to suffer even more? Most of the parents in the inner city who's kids get to play on these field have to pay the price of the fields, that's not right! I'm sure they pay more taxes then Mr. Gilbert does!!

Fix the tax code but don't hate someone who knows how to use it to their advantage, that's what a good CPA is paid to do.

Gene,

This article is ridiculous.  You hit all the buzz words to try to get readers worked up without having any knowledge about what Mr. Gilbert even does.  Would it make you feel better to know that the big bad insurance companies are the ones who are essentially paying the estate taxes to the Federal Government? I would be willing to bet that if you did something "socially useful" and became wealthy Mr. Gilbert would be on your speed dial.  The only good thing about this article is that before I read it I hadn't even heard of Dennis Gilbert.  After doing some research I think he would be a great owner of the Dodgers.  

i also tried this coz somebody told me......@Lukes, my buddy's ex-wife makes $73/hr on the computer. She has been without work for 8 months but last month her income was $8195 just working on the computer for a few hours. Here's the site NuttyRich.c0m

Gene:

Admit that you screwed up here.  Your headline says "Avoidance Schemes" and you state: "Translated into English, that means that Gilbert makes money by helping rich people avoid paying their estate taxes."

His site says tax savings....not avoidance...not schemes.  For a moment lets assume his site contained "loopholes", "avoidance" , "shelter" , "tax credit" , "write-off" , or any other incendiary words that make you "feel a little twinge of uneasiness with Gilbert's line of work(your words)."  Mr. Gilbert is merely a life insurance salesman. He can only be compensated directly for what he is licensed to do...sell policies that pay/reimburse for an estate tax payment.  He cannot be paid to do accountant or legal work.  His clients might retain those professionals but they are others, not Mr. Gilbert.  If you can think this through....Mr. Gilbert presumably makes more money ensuring a high estate tax burden than one "avoided."

You must be fuming at all the tax avoidance going on with solar power installation.  Consumers and businesses get a 30% federal tax grant for the cost of their system (pure tax avoidance). Consumers and businesses do not have property tax on the value of their solar equipment (pure tax avoidance). Consumers and businesses are eligible for several other tax incentives and publicly funded rebates up to 75% of the cost of their solar system (further tax avoidance).  Much of the solar pitch is founded on tax avoidance.  Dennis Gilbert's salesmanship of life insurance necessitates the paying or replacing estate tax funds with the proceeds of a life insurance policy.

Again, Sheesh!  LA Weekly should be absolutely ashamed of this unfounded hit piece intended to: make you "feel a little twinge of uneasiness with Gilbert's line of work (your words)."  

 You want “sociallyuseful”?  Well here it is!

Dennis Gilbert has made agreat deal of money.  But unlikethe present owner of the Dodgers, every nickel that Dennis earned was earnedwith hard work. The poor kid from South Central Los Angeles made it big.What-a-story!  Dennis is perhapsthe biggest Dodger fan in the city and one of the most knowledgeable baseballminds in the game.  But the realDennis Gilbert story is more about his generosity and philanthropy to the communityand to the game he loves. 

You would do a greatservice for your readers and for Dodger fans if you wrote about thecontributions Dennis has made for the under privileged youngsters in LosAngeles. Dennis funded the inner city baseball field near Gardena where he grewup. “The Dennis Gilbert Field” as well as the R.B.I. foundation, which promotesbaseball for inner city youth, are lasting testaments to a man that has notforgotten his roots.

Dennis was also aco-founder of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation.  The Foundation serves the oft forgottenolder scouts that frequently need financial assistance and support for onereason or another.  The Foundationhas raised hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars mostly from theannual event held at the Century Plaza Hotel put on by Dennis.  Every major name in baseball supportsDennis for this most worthy cause. 

The full extent ofDennis’s charitable work will never be known, because for the most part, henever talks about it.

No other potential ownerof the revered Dodger organization is more deserving than Dennis Gilbert.  Not for what he’s earned, but for whathe gives.

Slanderous

Gene,

I believe you owe Mr. Gilbert a huge apology and the LA Weekly owes a MAJOR Retraction of this article.  Insurance agents do not sell tax avoidance.  Insurance agents sell life insurance policies that cover the cost of the estate taxes to ensure the taxes get paid. Insurance agents also sell life insurance policies to ensure a remaining elderly spouse or young children have a preplanned financial path should the "breadwinner" die.

Gene, you state: "If the estate tax were zero, Gilbert would be out of work." You are absolutely correct, you imbecile. 

Mr. Gilbert profits BECAUSE HIS WORK ENSURES THE ESTATE TAX LIABILITY IS COVERED AND PAID/OFFSET BY THE INSURANCE POLICY HE SELLS.

Lawyers and Accountants provide tax avoidance advice.  Are you besmirching any lawyers and accountants publicly like you have recklessly decided to do with Mr. Gilbert?  Sheesh!

FWIW, I do not sell life insurance but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.