What do you keep in mind about Anna Nicole Smith? You may keep in mind her because the star of one of many “Naked Gun” films. You may keep in mind her as a Playboy playmate and a mannequin for Guess? Jeans. Or possibly you keep in mind her awkward actuality tv present. You in all probability keep in mind she skilled a number of tragedies in direction of the tip of her life, together with her personal loss of life in 2007 on the age of 39 from an unintended drug overdose.
Or… maybe you additionally recall that she was married to a 90-year-old billionaire at one level and was concerned in a authorized battle in search of a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars}? That’s what we will deal with on this article.
When I requested just a few folks about that case, some keep in mind her as successful, and others keep in mind her shedding… it was fuzzy for me as effectively. Upon doing the analysis for this text, I used to be shocked to be taught of all of the insane twists and turns, ups and downs. But most of all, I used to be shocked to be taught that the fortune Anna Nicole Smith was preventing for might have been an 8% stake in Koch Industries. The identical Koch Industries that is likely one of the largest privately-held firms on this planet. The Koch Industries that in the present day makes Charles Koch and his brother’s widow, Julia Flesher Koch, among the many 20 richest folks on this planet with fortunes of roughly $70+ billion a chunk. This story is simply as insane as it’s tragic and engaging.
Where can we even begin?
Let’s begin with some fundamentals as a result of there are plenty of vital names and characters to maintain monitor of right here. And a few of them have very comparable names to one another. Here’s our solid of characters:
Anna Nicole Smith – Busty Nineteen Nineties pinup mannequin, actress, and widow of J. Howard Marshall II.
J. Howard Marshall II – A billionaire oil investor who died in 1995 on the age of 90 whereas legally married to Anna.
Fred Koch – Founder of Koch Industries, who died in 1967 – father of Charles, David, Bill, and Fred Jr.
Charles, David, Bill, and Fred Jr – The 4 sons of Fred Koch. Charles is at present the 18th richest individual on this planet, with a web price of $56 billion. David’s widow, Julia Flesher Koch, is the Nineteenth-richest individual on the planet and the fourth-richest lady on this planet. Fred Jr. died in February 2020. He was not a billionaire on the time of his loss of life. Bill Koch is alive, and he’s “only” price $2 billion, for causes we’ll get to later.
J. Howard Marshall III – One of J. Howard’s two sons (his solely kids).
E. Pierce Marshall – J. Howard II’s different son.
Elaine Marshall – E. Pierce’s spouse.
Howard K. Stern – Anna’s lawyer.
Daniel Wayne Smith – Anna’s son, who was born in 1986.
Dannielynn Birkhead – Anna’s daughter, who was born in 2006.
Larry Birkhead – Dannielynn’s father.
Got all that? There will probably be a take a look at.
Also, to forestall this from being a ten,000-word article, can I simply assume everybody is aware of the fundamentals of Anna Nicole Smith? Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in 1967. Raised grime poor in Texas, she dropped out of highschool throughout her sophomore 12 months. Worked as a stripper earlier than making a splash within the 1992 situation of Playboy (then credited as Vickie Smith). A 12 months later, she was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year (now going by the title Anna Nicole). She achieved a modicum of fame within the mid-to-late Nineteen Nineties with a bunch of movie, tv, and modeling appearances.
Here’s Anna in a 1994 publicity portrait of her function within the movie “Naked Gun 33 1/3”, arguably the height of her profession and picture:
(Photo by Paramount/Getty Images)
Let’s get into it.
J. Howard Marshall II
James Howard Marshall II was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on January 24, 1905. He attended Haverford College, then Yale Law School, the place he graduated magna cum laude in 1931 earlier than turning into an Assistant Dean on the faculty for a number of years. In 1935, J. Howard was employed as particular counsel to the President of Standard Oil of California, which in the present day is named Chevron.
While working at Standard Oil, he realized every part in regards to the petroleum enterprise. During World War II, he was known as to Washington, D.C., to run the nation’s wartime Petroleum Administration. In this place, he managed America’s vitality coverage across the globe, an important job for making certain Allied victory towards Germany and Japan.
After the warfare, J. Howard returned to the personal sector with stints as a Vice President on the Ashland Oil and Refining Company, Executive Vice President at Signal Oil & Gas, President of Union Texas Petroleum, and Executive Vice President of Allied Signal (which is in the present day’s Honeywell). He made his first vital fortune because of his place as President of Union Texas Petroleum. Union Texas was purchased by Allied Signal and ultimately merged with BP. By the late Sixties, he was wealthy sufficient to enter semi-retirement.
He was a preferred character within the Texas oil enterprise, consistently turning friendships into profitable enterprise endeavors. One of his mates from this era was named Fred Koch.
J. Howard Marshall II (Photo by Liaison)
Fred Koch
Fred Koch based what ultimately was re-named Koch Industries in 1940. The firm’s unique title was Wood River Oil. He launched the corporate after growing an progressive manner of refining oil that was considerably extra environment friendly at turning crude oil into gasoline.
In 1959, Fred acquired a 35% possession stake within the Great Northern Oil Company, which was co-founded by his good buddy, J. Howard Marshall II.
Fred died in 1967, at which level his 32-year-old son Charles took over and re-named the corporate in his father’s honor.
In 1968, Charles approached Union Oil of California with a proposal to purchase their share of the Great Northern Oil Company. Union requested for a HUGE buyout quantity, which Charles declined. Union then went behind Charles’ again and tried to overthrow his majority stake in Great Northern by partnering with new buyers and telling these new potential buyers that they could possibly be profitable in taking on the entire firm in the event that they gained favor with J. Howard Marshall.
When J. Howard discovered what was happening, he was disgusted and as a substitute bought absolutely behind Charles. Together, Charles and J. Howard took majority management of Great Northern.
In the tip, J. Howard Marshall II exchanged his shares in Great Northern for a 16% stake in Koch Industries.
The Koch Sibling War
In 1983, Fred Jr. and brother Bill agreed to promote their stakes within the household enterprise to their brothers Charles and David for a mixed whole of $800 million (round $2 billion in in the present day’s {dollars}).
After the sale was accomplished, Bill grew to become satisfied that Charles and David had short-changed them and/or drastically undervalued the enterprise to get an inexpensive deal. Bill subsequently launched a authorized battle, suing for a bigger payout. Fred Jr. joined the lawsuit, which dragged on for 15 years. In the tip, a jury agreed that some belongings have been undervalued, however not in a significant sufficient strategy to justify any extra payout to Fred and Bill. When it was all mentioned and carried out, Bill and Fred spent much more on legal professionals than what they in the end acquired. The lawsuit additionally brought about a rift that severed the household to the purpose that when Fred would see his twin brother David at charity occasions a long time later, they’d barely say hiya.
During the battle, J. Howard Marshall’s eldest son, J. Howard Marshall III sided with Bill and Fred. J. Howard II’s youthful son, E. Pierce, sided together with his father, who was on the facet of Charles and David Koch.
J. Howard II was extraordinarily disenchanted in his eldest son for siding with Bill and Fred. So a lot in order that he wrote his son out of his will, making E. Pierce his principal beneficiary.
The Billionaire Meets The Stripper
J. Howard Marshall II was married to Eleanor Pierce from 1931 to 1961. This marriage produced two sons, J. Howard III and E. Pierce. He was then married to Bettye Bohannon from 1961 till her loss of life in 1991. Bettye died on September 12, 1991, however she had suffered from Alzheimer’s because the early Nineteen Eighties, which devastated Marshall. To distract himself, in the future, he popped right into a strip membership the place he met a 42-year-old dancer named Jewell Dianne Walker – aka “Lady” – who was performing a routine on stage WITH HER 18-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.
Marshall was intoxicated each by alcohol and arousal. He begged her to be his mistress. She agreed. He proceeded to obtain Lady with an annual wage, lavish jewellery, and a group of Rolls-Royces. Lady would match her each day outfit with a unique coloration Rolls. They have been a comparatively blissful and regular couple for a number of years till Lady tragically died throughout a cosmetic surgery process in July 1991 (it was a facelift, in case you have been questioning).
Then, as we talked about, Bettye died simply three months later in September.
The deaths of his spouse and his longtime girlfriend left Marshall in despair. He was so upset that his workers was frightened he may be suicidal.
In an try to brighten his spirits, in October of 1991 (one month after Bettye’s loss of life), an 86-year-old wheelchair-bound J. Howard was rolled right into a Houston strip membership by his limo driver. Soon, a 24-year-old dancer named Vickie took the stage.
(Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Cupid will need to have been working additional time that evening as a result of, imagine it or not, Anna and J. Howard SOMEHOW fell in love and commenced relationship.
They dated all through Anna’s rise to fame on the pages of Playboy. During their courtship, J. Howard lavished Anna with presents and begged her to marry him. He purchased Anna tens of millions of {dollars}’ price of jewellery, a lipstick-red Mercedes, and a Rolls-Royce. On one buying go to alone, he purchased her $2 million price of jewellery. Anna was additionally placed on the Marshall Petroleum payroll and well being plan.
For a time, Anna was very current in Howard’s life. They went to his nation membership collectively. They ate regularly at his favourite restaurant, Red Lobster, the place she was previously a waitress (not essentially on the identical location). And they have been periodically intimate. Court testimony years later would describe how Anna would rub herself throughout him and use her mouth and different physique elements as a lot as he was… succesful. (Don’t act such as you weren’t questioning!)
As Anna grew to become well-known, J. Howard was extraordinarily happy with his girlfriend. He rented her an condo in LA and later purchased Anna a house in Brentwood and an condo in New York City.
Anna wasn’t unique to J. Howard. She had a number of different sexual companions on the time, each female and male, however Howard didn’t thoughts so long as he… got here first. (Sorry).
(Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)
On June 27, 1994, 26-year-old Anna Nicole Smith married the 89-year-old James Howard Marshall II in entrance of 11 visitors at Houston’s White Dove marriage ceremony chapel. “The bride wore cleavage” was how People Magazine summed up Anna’s look. An attendee described Anna’s satin robe as “very, very, very, very low-cut.”
Anna’s 8-year-old son Daniel, whom she had with ex-husband Billy Smith – a co-worker from her days working at a fried rooster quick meals restaurant – was the ring bearer.
Immediately after the ceremony and reception, Anna informed her new husband that she needed to jet off to Greece for a photograph shoot. She reportedly left J. Howard crying in his wheelchair. Court testimony years later would illuminate the truth that Anna had intercourse along with her bodyguard that very evening in a close-by resort room.
And that is the way it was for the following 14 months. Howard appeared to really love Anna. He known as her dozens of instances a day. He informed everybody how a lot he liked his younger spouse. Anna actually had some affection for J. Howard and appreciated him pulling her out of poverty, however she additionally appeared to really love his pockets. In court docket testimony years later, it might be revealed that Anna was spending north of six figures every month on her numerous bills.
The Death Of A Billionaire
About midway by way of their marriage, J. Howard started to expertise extreme well being issues, principally related to a abdomen most cancers analysis. But there have been different issues as effectively. For instance, one evening in January 1995, Anna determined to feed Howard soup with a spoon. Seems harmless sufficient, proper? Well, docs had ordered that he solely be fed by way of a tube as a result of spoon-feeding might trigger him to choke. He choked, handed out, and needed to be revived within the emergency room. Infuriated, J. Howard’s son Pierce used the incident to win guardianship over his father.
On August 4, 1995, James Howard Marshall II died on the age of 90. At the time of his loss of life, his web price was within the vary of $1.6 billion, and he had been married to Anna Nicole Smith for 14 months.
According to Anna, whereas they have been collectively, J. Howard promised to depart her half of his property upon his loss of life. Even if that was a lofty promise, she a minimum of anticipated to be taken care of in a roundabout way by his will.
She was left nothing.
The Legal Battles
Anna moved rapidly to file a lawsuit contesting the desire in Harris County probate court docket. Pierce’s older brother, J. Howard III, joined Anna with the lawsuit.
Pierce’s argument was easy: J. Howard created a will and an especially clear property plan greater than a dozen years earlier than he died. That plan left all of his property to Pierce and a few charities.
Anna and J. Howard III argued that Pierce prevented their father from following by way of on his intentions to incorporate them in his belief by isolating and controlling the previous man.
While this was all happening, Anna was sued by a girl who beforehand labored as a nanny for her son Daniel. In a lawsuit in search of $2 million, the nanny claimed that Anna pressured her to take medicine and interact in undesirable sexual acts. Anna claimed the intercourse and medicines have been each consensual. The nanny gained a default $800,000 judgment after Anna failed to indicate up for any of the authorized hearings.
This $800,000 judgment couldn’t come at a worse time. Anna was pressured to file for private chapter. She selected to file in California, her main state of residence, itemizing $9 million price of money owed.
Amazingly, that California chapter court docket in the end awarded Smith $450 million from E. Pierce’s property, PLUS $25 million in punitive damages, for a complete of $475 million. This is essential. A California chapter court docket principally stepped right into a Texas probate court docket battle.
Back in Texas, their unique probate court docket battle was lastly getting began. After a five-month jury trial, the Texas probate court docket dominated that J. Howard Marshall II’s will was legitimate, and Anna was entitled to nothing.
In the meantime, Pierce additionally appealed the chapter judgment in California. While Anna claimed she was a California resident in her chapter, her marriage to J. Howard II was a Texas marriage, and she or he signed a number of paperwork claiming she was a Texas resident effectively after the wedding, which she acknowledged a number of instances on the stand within the Texas Probate Case. He appealed all the best way to the California Supreme Court, claiming that California didn’t have jurisdiction over a Texas probate case (probate – will/property). The California Supreme Court disagreed with Pierce’s argument however in the end selected to cut back the $475 million award to $88 million.
***A consultant of the Marshall household requested that we make it clear that had Anna prevailed in her claims towards Pierce, she by no means would have acquired Koch inventory. Pierce would have bought inventory or would have borrowed towards the inventory to generate the roughly $475 million judgment. They level out that Pierce was an astute and profitable enterprise government with skilled authorized advisors. He by no means would have given up a worthwhile appreciating asset to settle the judgment.***
Pierce appealed that call as much as the Ninth Circuit Appellate Court.
In 2005, the Ninth Circuit dominated in Pierce’s favor, agreeing {that a} Federal chapter court docket (in California, no much less) didn’t have jurisdiction over a Texas probate matter.
Anna wished to attraction, however the one possibility above the Ninth Circuit was… The United States Supreme Court.
Incredibly, even President George W. Bush (a Houston oilman, by the best way) bought concerned. Looking to curb Federal meddling in state issues, Bush requested that his Solicitor General submit a quick on the case on Anna’s facet.
And guess what? The Supreme Court ACCEPTED.
(JIM RUYMEN/AFP through Getty Images)
Mrs. Smith Goes To Washington
Arguments have been made within the case of “Marshall v. Marshall” to the US Supreme Court on February 28, 2006. On May 1, 2006, the Supreme Court dominated unanimously for ANNA NICOLE SMITH. Their resolution held that federal courts “have jurisdiction to entertain suits to determine the rights of creditors, legatees, heirs, and other claimants relating to an estate, so long as the federal court does not probate a will, administer an estate, take control of assets being administered by the probate court or interfere with the probate proceedings.“
That final chunk in daring is the important thing. That line says Federal courts are free to do no matter they need so long as the case doesn’t contain probate (a will).
The ruling did not give Anna a minimize of her husband’s property, it merely paved the best way for her to proceed arguing for her share in court docket.
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Tragedies Strike
Less than two months later, on June 20, 2006, Anna’s nemesis, E. Pierce Marshall, died on the age of 67.
Throughout this era, Anna had change into hooked on medicine and was usually very self-destructive. She additionally started a relationship with a photographer named Larry Birkhead. She grew to become pregnant and selected to dwell within the Bahamas for the start.
Anna gave start to a child woman on September 7, 2006. That evening, Anna’s son Daniel flew in from California and joined his mom, his new child child sister, and Howard Ok. Stern on the hospital. Howard slept in a chair, the newborn was in a bassinet, and Anna and Daniel slept in her mattress. At 9 am the next morning, Anna awoke to a daunting realization. Daniel’s pores and skin was chilly, and he appeared to not be respiratory or have a pulse.
Daniel Wayne Smith was declared lifeless that day within the hospital room on the age of 20. He died from an unintended overdose. Larry Birkhead would later declare that Daniel took considered one of his mom’s doses of methadone. He additionally had Zoloft and Lexapro in his system.
Anna was unimaginably distraught. She needed to be sedated at his funeral.
In February 2007, Anna and Howard flew to Hollywood, Florida, to examine a ship that they bought. On the morning of Thursday, February 8, 2007 – 153 days after the loss of life of her son Daniel – Anna Nicole Smith died in her room on the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. She was 39 years previous. Her loss of life was additionally dominated a drug overdose.
Her loss of life brought about a authorized wrinkle when it was revealed that her will left her property to Daniel. She merely did not have the time or the headspace to replace it to incorporate Dannielynn. Several males got here ahead, claiming to be Dannielynn’s organic father. Each man, in concept, thought they may be in line to profit from a $450 million property, which might in the end be heading to Dannielynn.
Larry Birkhead was confirmed to be the organic father.
The Conclusion
Anna’s case towards Pierce’s property continued on behalf of her child daughter Dannielynn – named in honor of her older half-brother. The earlier Supreme Court resolution remanded the case again to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which once more re-affirmed its vacating of the U.S. District Court’s judgment.
Their solely possibility from right here was as soon as once more to attraction to the United States Supreme Court… which, extremely, ACCEPTED AGAIN.
So, as soon as once more, the Supreme Court of the United States was set to find out the case of what was then known as Stern v. Marshall. On June 23, 2011, the Supreme Court dominated towards Smith’s property, asserting as soon as and for all that the Texas Probate court docket was the primary to rule and underneath the precept of res judicata (a matter that has been adjudicated by a reliable court docket and might not be pursued additional by the identical events in one other court docket) took priority over the federal courts later rulings.
The absolute conclusion of the case would take three extra years. In August 2014, a Federal decide in Orange County, California, rejected Smith’s last authorized effort towards the property of E. Pierce Marshall. By this level, Anna had been lifeless for seven years. Pierce had been lifeless for eight years. J. Howard Marshall II had been lifeless for 19 years.
Anna went from successful a $475 million judgment towards Pierce’s property… to $88 million to having all awards in the end diminished to ZERO.
That wasn’t the tip of the battle over J. Howard’s property. Back in Texas, heirs unrelated to Anna Nicole continued preventing Elaine Marshall for a wide range of causes. Finally, in December 2016, a Texas probate decide named Mike Wood put the embattled property to mattress once-and-for-all, completely ending the case in Elaine’s favor. By this level, J. Howard Marshall had been lifeless for 22 years. In his resolution, an exhausted and exasperated Judge Wood made the next declaration:
“I am tired of this case… I don’t want to deal with you people anymore. This is ridiculous… I am not going to spend a lot of time cutting at nits and gnats for people that are fighting over $20 billion, $10 billion that they didn’t earn. They didn’t create this wealth. It was created by a third party, and they’re just fighting over it. They can’t agree on anything. They can pay lots of lawyers. They can pay lawyers until hell freezes over. But they don’t want to agree to anything. They just want to pay lawyers.“
What Could Have Been
As if this case wasn’t insane sufficient because it truly unfolded, we additionally must think about what might have been. It’s not unimaginable that if Anna had been a bit extra profitable in getting “half” of J. Howard II’s property, as she thought she was promised, she might have owned what would have amounted to eight% of Koch Industries. Had she been profitable and stayed alive, in the present day, she can be a 53-year-old multi-billionaire.
That 16% stake in Koch Industries that gave J. Howard Marshall II, a web price of $1.6 billion in 1995, is price north of $20 billion in the present day with out even together with dividends and curiosity paid over the a long time.
This is why 82-year-old Elaine Marshall and her household reportedly personal 15% of Koch Industries in the present day. A stake that’s price $25 BILLION, which, if true, would make her the 68th-richest on the planet and one of many richest women in the world. It’s tough to peg the worth of a personal firm, however FYI: Forbes estimates a 15% stake in Koch Industries as being price $9 billion, whereas Bloomberg estimates it at $28 billion. Furthermore:
*** In an announcement supplied to CNW, a consultant of the Marshall household says, “Elaine Marshall did not inherit E. Pierce Marshall’s entire estate, does not own 15% of Koch Industries, and is not the 68th richest person on the planet***
Speaking totally hypothetically – Had Anna Nicole Smith been successful in receiving half of J. Howard Marshall’s estate, AND had she never cashed out her stake, there’s a not-so-crazy scenario where today, Anna Nicole Smith would have a net worth of at least $10 billion. She’d be roughly the 180th richest person in the world. She’d be richer than Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey ($9.9b), LA Lakers proprietor Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong ($9.7b), Fortnight developer Tim Sweeney ($9.5b), Charles Schwab ($7.5b), and George Lucas ($7.6b), amongst many different notable billionaires.
I do not learn about you, however I’d have LOVED to have seen what Anna Nicole Smith would have been like with $10 billion.
***After publishing our article, we acquired a number of factors of suggestions from a consultant of the Marshall household. We made among the adjustments they requested and added statements, as you’ll be able to see above, in two italicized paragraphs. We additionally agreed to put up the next assertion:***
A Statement from the Marshall Family
Early within the case, some members of the media incorrectly reported that Anna might receive inventory in Koch Industries if she prevailed in her lawsuit. Those tales have been inaccurate and infrequently primarily based on attorneys’ opinions who weren’t aware of Texas probate regulation, nor did they’ve any understanding of how J. Howard had structured his property plan a long time earlier.
Most of J. Howard’s belongings have been in separate property trusts established lengthy earlier than he met Anna. Under Texas regulation, Anna was not entitled to belongings in separate property trusts. Ownership of the Koch Industries inventory was by no means at situation in any of the litigation. Anna would have been financially safe had she correctly managed the greater than $6 million J. Howard supplied her throughout their relationship, or pursued the enterprise J. Howard was making an attempt to assist her begin.
