Chapter 133: The Heir's Dilemma

Although Lady He Ben hoped that in the time ahead he would support United Nations charitable activities as much as possible and help more children in need.

But he did not want to rest; could he force others to work as hard as he did?

For the Western world, the Christmas holiday and New Year at the end of each year are major events of the year. Very few people are willing to travel to the African continent to celebrate with those black brothers, and the same goes for other impoverished countries; it is far better to spend the holidays with family.

But even without a visit schedule, there are plenty of matters on American soil.

With the Christmas holiday approaching, this period is also when many people are willing to be generous.

Apart from faith, more importantly, charitable donations can be deducted from taxable income. Those wealthy individuals whose accounts have been audited by accountants and who can reduce their tax liability must adjust their finances before the New Year to avoid paying large sums of unjust taxes for nothing.

Therefore, the period before the New Year is also the harvest season for fundraising. Lady He Ben, who has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Children's Foundation since 1988, naturally would not let these wealthy people off the hook.

After all, if these people do not donate, the money will be taken by the government anyway. It is better to donate for charity, gaining both reputation and tax savings.

Besides charity galas, this time of year is also roughly when the Oscar awards campaign begins.

As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Lady He Ben naturally has some social obligations to fulfill. However, he operates centered in New York and would not be invited to fly to Los Angeles, the headquarters of Hollywood.

Yet on the eve of Christmas, December 17, a piece of news shocked all sectors across the United States. Howard Stark, the head of Stark Industries, and his wife, Maria Stark, were involved in a car accident.

It is reported that on the night of the 16th, while the couple was driving home, a brake failure occurred on a remote road. They were discovered and reported to the police on the morning of the 17th, and judicial examination confirmed their deaths.

The group most shaken by this incident was naturally the circle of wealthy people, primarily in the business world. Even at fundraising galas, the topic of conversation would involuntarily drift toward Stark Industries.

Everyone could see that Stark Industries now faced a very thorny situation. That is, the helmsman died unexpectedly; was the heir prepared?

The so-called "prepared" here does not refer to whether Tony Stark has the qualifications or ability; it relates to a more realistic aspect, namely estate planning.

As everyone knows, the US inheritance tax is as high as 45%. If legal risk avoidance and transfer are not carried out during one's lifetime, once a person dies, the heir must pay nearly half the value to inherit the estate.

Furthermore, taxes are best paid in cash; the practice of offsetting taxes with physical assets is often undervalued repeatedly, and the inherited amount includes the valuation of both movable and immovable property. This means that even if all the cash from the inherited assets is withdrawn, it may not be enough to pay the inheritance tax.

Thus, the heir can only find ways to liquidate part of the assets in hand to pay the taxes.

However, pricing in buying and selling depends on who is more urgent and who has more confidence. If Tony Stark is in a rush to raise money before the inheritance tax deadline, others will have room to lower the price.

Alternatively, one could use the assets as collateral to borrow from a bank. But for such huge loans, even with collateral, it would inevitably require a syndicated loan from multiple banks; if that is insufficient, other financial institutions must be brought in. This also gives others an opportunity to interfere with Stark Industries.

It can be said that everyone is not mourning the death of a business tycoon or a genius scientist; they simply want to get a piece of the feast that has descended upon this accident.

Actually, Lady He Ben was not very concerned about the Stark family matters; the two sides did not have a deep friendship. But every guest in conversation would chatter a few words about it, so even if he did not want to care, he still knew.

However, just because Lady He Ben had no friendship with them did not mean his circle of friends was so quiet.

One restful night, Lady He Ben received a phone call from a friend at the hotel. Hearing the depressed voice on the other end, he could not help but ask with concern: "Katharine, are you alright?"

On the other end of the line was another Lady He Ben, Katharine Hepburn. She and Howard had been friends for decades; although there were unpleasant moments in between and they ultimately did not end up together, they were friends who could confide in each other.

Katharine sighed over the phone: "Getting old has this one downside: today you hear someone has passed, tomorrow you hear someone else is gone. Although I still feel sad, I have become so accustomed to it that I cannot even cry."

"Please accept my condolences, Katharine. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Of course there is. Tomorrow is Howard's funeral; I will be coming to New York. Can I borrow your little driver for a day? I met him through little Tony. I think on a day like that, it would be good for him to go take a look, regardless of whether he can speak to anyone in the end."

Lady He Ben replied: "Of course, I think I will go to pay my respects as well. After all, I have received quite a bit of help from Mr. Stark. Katharine, when will you arrive in New York?" No one in Hollywood dared to say they had absolutely no connection to the Starks.

"In fact, I am just preparing to go to Bradley Airport. By the time I fly to New York, it might already be very late."

"Alright, I will have Henry arrange it," Lady He Ben said.

"Oh, it seems our little driver is quite sharp. You really trust him with everything," Katharine said, forcing herself to sound cheerful as if to drive away the sad emotions.

Lady He Ben cooperated and said: "Yes, that child has really been a great help."

Although he wanted to continue the conversation, Katharine still had to catch her flight. So she said on the phone: "Let's talk when we meet. Otherwise, my flight will only have to be picked later and later."

"Mm, let's talk when we meet."

After hanging up the phone, Lady He Ben found the wristwatch on the dressing table and gently pressed a certain section of the metal watch band.

A moment later, a knocking sound came from the room door. Henry spoke from outside: "Boss, did you call for me?"

"The door is not locked, come in."

The room for ladies had an inner and outer section; the outer section was a small living room. Although Henry was not wearing formal attire, he was dressed neatly. He asked: "Boss, is there something you need?"

"Katharine will be taking a flight to New York later; could you trouble yourself to pick her up? Also arrange accommodation. We will go together tomorrow to attend the funeral of Mr. and Mrs. Stark."

Henry said in surprise: "Did Katharine receive an invitation?"

"Is that necessary?" Lady He Ben asked in return.

"I thought such occasions would also require invitations to limit the number of people." If it were a funeral in his hometown, Henry could talk from the first seven days to the forty-ninth day. But how the West handled things, he was not clear.

Hearing such a common-sense question, Lady He Ben could only remain speechless.

After thinking for a moment, he still explained: "Invitations are just to notify close friends of the time and location of the funeral. But even those who did not receive an invitation, if they are willing to go to pay their respects, can go."

"No need to limit the number of people?"

Shaking her head, the Lady said: "If there are many people, naturally their relatives or closest friends will maintain order at that time. Moreover, no one would want to cause trouble at such a sad occasion, nor is it appropriate."

The concept that the deceased takes precedence applies to both East and West. However, it is normal for Henry not to know something he has never encountered.

But what moved him even more was that Howard Stark was dead. According to the path of the Iron Man's achievements, he had been sacrificed to the heavens.

Those familiar and strange people and things seemed to begin gradually blending together.

(End of this chapter)