Hi all;
I've lurked on this thread since the beginning...never posted before.
I'm forwarding the following message in hope that those who
gloat at the misfortune of others might reflect.
______________________________________________
A tragedy has befallen a friend of ReformAMT :
Fred Abramson is dead. Taxes killed him.
That's not the whole story of course. Fred was a co-worker of
multiple ReformAMT members. Fred, a resident of San Mateo,
California was 57 years old. He was an extremely intelligent
individual. He had a PhD in mathematics. He was fortunate
enough to join Rambus just about the time it went public.
About a year and a half ago, he decided to exit the technology
arena and concentrate on flying full time. He was a pilot
instructor for many years and loved performing at air shows.
This was his love and what he truly wanted to do in life. Of
course, his stock in Rambus helped him "retire" from his technical
career. But on leaving the company, he was forced to exercise
all his vested stock options or lose them. Of course he exercised
them.
It turns out he exercised near the peak historical value of Rambus's
stock, and then things started going very bad for the company, and
Fred. The hi-tech industry started to slump, Rambus encountered some
very adverse legal rulings on patents, and some of the company's
critical business partnerships starting wavering. From its high,
the stock tumbled 50% in just two weeks. In the end, the stock
tumbled from a high of $120 to a low of $5 and has now settled in
the $7-8 range. It has never recovered substantially, and may not
for quite some time.
When Fred exercised his stock, he incurred a huge tax liability in
the form of AMT. Being a believer in the company, he held on to
the stock hoping for a recovery that would help him cover taxes.
In the end, he had to sell everything at very low prices and he
still owed huge taxes. Once he sold his stock, there was no hope
of ever recovering, even if the economy and company recovered. He
was bankrupt and had to go back to work in the hi-tech industry.
He couldn't stand the fact his "retirement" was destroyed by AMT
on money he really never made. And he couldn't bear the thought
that he would be paying off his tax debt most likely for the rest
of his life.
Last week Fred decided to make his final payment - he paid with his
life spending his last moments with his plane. |
