Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Go on...
Take the money and run. This brings me near to the end of my Chile trip. Once the keynote speakers were done, the rest of the weekend was seperated into 3 topics: 1) International Banking and Asset protection, 2) Second Passports and residency. 3) Farmland and residency in Chile. Yes, Chile was so important, it deserved it's own day. (Spoiler alert, I agree.)
I largely ignored the first topic for a simple reason: I'm broke, though not poor; I was staying in Chile's finest hotel, after all. Still, hearing all the rules and regulations for Americans and what the banks must do to take Americans drove home how important moving money out of the USA. This requires you to have money, however. The banks involved were the usual suspects: banks from Panama, Chile, Singapore, and the Republic of Georgia. Wait, what? Yup. This was by far the most popular bank actually, and I wondered if the reason the bank was so popular was that the representative was absolutely smoking hot. $100 to talk to her for 20 minutes? More expensive than a strip club, but you won't need a shower when you're done.
There was also an extensive series of workshops on opening offshore trusts through the Cook Islands, setting up corporations in Singapore, and storing gold overseas. It was all way over my head, though I knew that one day I'd need this information. Fatigue won over morbid curiosity, so I relaxed for most of the day. I still have the videos if I need the information.
Another workshop that served as a bridge between the idea of moving your money offshore and yourself offshore was about a young man that Simon knew. We'll call him John for clarity's sake. John was very successful in a few business deals, and he availed himself of St. Kitts' economic citizenship program by buying a house there. Once he bought the house and received his passport, he made a momentous decision. He expatriated in the trues sense; he gave up his American nationality.
The USA did not make it easy. There is a right to expatriate, though tax evasion is one of the reasons why it can be delayed. That's what happened to John, though he was able to do so. This made hi free from the predation of America's tax burdens, but it came a steep personal price: he wasn't able to visit the US anymore. His mistake was to apply for a tourist visa in the same place as he finally returned his American passport, and they didn't look kindly on the timing. As a result, he can visit over a hundred nations without a visa, but not the USA. you could tell it weighed heavily on him, but he was otherwise at peace with the decision. I hope he remains that way.
Part 2 tomorrow
I largely ignored the first topic for a simple reason: I'm broke, though not poor; I was staying in Chile's finest hotel, after all. Still, hearing all the rules and regulations for Americans and what the banks must do to take Americans drove home how important moving money out of the USA. This requires you to have money, however. The banks involved were the usual suspects: banks from Panama, Chile, Singapore, and the Republic of Georgia. Wait, what? Yup. This was by far the most popular bank actually, and I wondered if the reason the bank was so popular was that the representative was absolutely smoking hot. $100 to talk to her for 20 minutes? More expensive than a strip club, but you won't need a shower when you're done.
There was also an extensive series of workshops on opening offshore trusts through the Cook Islands, setting up corporations in Singapore, and storing gold overseas. It was all way over my head, though I knew that one day I'd need this information. Fatigue won over morbid curiosity, so I relaxed for most of the day. I still have the videos if I need the information.
Another workshop that served as a bridge between the idea of moving your money offshore and yourself offshore was about a young man that Simon knew. We'll call him John for clarity's sake. John was very successful in a few business deals, and he availed himself of St. Kitts' economic citizenship program by buying a house there. Once he bought the house and received his passport, he made a momentous decision. He expatriated in the trues sense; he gave up his American nationality.
The USA did not make it easy. There is a right to expatriate, though tax evasion is one of the reasons why it can be delayed. That's what happened to John, though he was able to do so. This made hi free from the predation of America's tax burdens, but it came a steep personal price: he wasn't able to visit the US anymore. His mistake was to apply for a tourist visa in the same place as he finally returned his American passport, and they didn't look kindly on the timing. As a result, he can visit over a hundred nations without a visa, but not the USA. you could tell it weighed heavily on him, but he was otherwise at peace with the decision. I hope he remains that way.
Part 2 tomorrow
The Summer of my Discontent, or...
Life is difficult. This is the first sentence of D. M Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled.
I'm not really complaining, but there's so much going on right now that I can barely keep up. I'd love to keep talking about Chile, or the fate of the world, but things have changed. On Sunday July 7th., a friend died of a heart attack at the age of 42. I didn't know him that well, though we ran in the same social circles for over two decades, He was 3 months younger than myself, and he left behind a wife and 3 kids, the youngest of which is 6. This took my world view and smashed it. All my concerns and worries seems so small, so mean and petty. I wondered what my friends would feel if and when I left, knowing that my plans and dreams would seperate me, if not as permanently, nearly as psychologically. It never occurred to me I'd be missed.
I also identfied on another level. Both my friend and I were very large for extended periods of time, are above agerage in height (I'm 6' even and he was 6' 4"), and we both smoked cigars. Smoked is the operative word, as I quit when I heard the grim news. I also scheduled a stress test for my heart. It never occured to me that I need to be in near perfect health to do what I'm planning, and although I believe I've escaped major harm, I really need to confirm this. I'm not diabectic, and my blood pressure and cholesterol are OK, but I want to confirm my health.
Nevertheless, however I felt about the situation, I couldn't stop what I was doing. After the inital shock, and pain subsided, I was reminded of the direction of the nation, and I knew however it hard it was, I dare not quit (anything besides the cigars.)
I'm not really complaining, but there's so much going on right now that I can barely keep up. I'd love to keep talking about Chile, or the fate of the world, but things have changed. On Sunday July 7th., a friend died of a heart attack at the age of 42. I didn't know him that well, though we ran in the same social circles for over two decades, He was 3 months younger than myself, and he left behind a wife and 3 kids, the youngest of which is 6. This took my world view and smashed it. All my concerns and worries seems so small, so mean and petty. I wondered what my friends would feel if and when I left, knowing that my plans and dreams would seperate me, if not as permanently, nearly as psychologically. It never occurred to me I'd be missed.
I also identfied on another level. Both my friend and I were very large for extended periods of time, are above agerage in height (I'm 6' even and he was 6' 4"), and we both smoked cigars. Smoked is the operative word, as I quit when I heard the grim news. I also scheduled a stress test for my heart. It never occured to me that I need to be in near perfect health to do what I'm planning, and although I believe I've escaped major harm, I really need to confirm this. I'm not diabectic, and my blood pressure and cholesterol are OK, but I want to confirm my health.
Nevertheless, however I felt about the situation, I couldn't stop what I was doing. After the inital shock, and pain subsided, I was reminded of the direction of the nation, and I knew however it hard it was, I dare not quit (anything besides the cigars.)
