the big secret is that he didn't make a lot of money.
He lost about $1 billion a little over 20 years and because of that the loss carried forward over the next 20 years to offset any income and prevented him from paying taxes.
However, the big secret is that that loss offset is only good until he had made enough income to cover the entire $1 billion.
So, for example, if it was 1995 that he lost $1 billion
If he made $1 billion profit in 1996, the entire $1 billion loss would have been offset that next year and he would have paid income taxes as normal starting in 1997
Or, if he made $300 million in 1996 and then $700 million in 1997, he would not have paid taxes in those years because that was offset by the $1 billion loss.
But, he never made more than $1 billion in total over the NEXT 20 YEARS. He averaged $50 million/year in income or less in that time. Sure, $50 million/year is a lot of money, but it's not Michael Bloomberg or Mark Cuban money. It's more like a good pro athlete or entertainer.
Considering that he inherited over $400 million from his father, it means he's a piss poor businessman.
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