Professional Advisor Seminar

Author Randall Roth Speaks About Greed and Broken Trust at the Foundation’s Annual Professional Advisor Seminar

The Denver Foundation hosted its annual program for professional advisors on May 6th at the JW Marriott.  This year's program featured University of Hawaii Law Professor Randall Roth, who made a presentation based on the book he co-authored with Samuel P. King: Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust.  More than 160 professional advisors heard the story of Hawaii's Bishop Estate and how the poor oversight and unethical behavior of trustees compromised the integrity of the largest private trust in the United States.  At the time the book was written, the Bishop Estate Trust was worth billions.

All in the audience were fascinated to hear the story of how the trustees who ran the Bishop Estate were able to manage so many illegal and unethical activities for so long...and how it took several more years for Hawaii's Governor and probate courts to investigate and charge these trustees with wrongdoing.

Professor Roth engaged the audience with the sensational story and described how he and a small group of elders representing the traditional Hawaiian community drew the notice of the Internal Revenue Service, which in turn forced action against the trustees of the Bishop Estate.  This program provided a provocative tale that touched on a variety of legal and financial issues dealing with a charitable estate, and offered an important lesson in ethics for all who attended.  For more information, contact Leslie Karotkin, Senior Philanthropic Planner and Director of Professional Advisor Services, at 303-300-1790 , ext. 110.