Tag Archives: American Dream

Golden Geese everywhere

It seems wherever I go in the world I am fated to meet high net worth individuals (HNWIs) who for one reason or another are contemplating flying the coop to become fully fledged Golden Geese.

This afternoon (Valentines Day) I was taking a Nature Air flight from Liberia (the town in Costa Rica, not the country) to San Jose (the capital). I got chatting to a US citizen seated in front of me (I’ll keep him anonymous). He was buying real estate in Costa Rica having sold up his businesses in the US. He wasn’t yet contemplating giving up his passport, but he was determined to spend much if not most of his time away from the States.

This time it wasn’t the IRS that was chasing him away. Within five minutes he was telling me a series of stories about gratuitous litigation, and how, because he was perceived to be rich within a community where he had undertaken an educational project, he had become the target for ambulance chaser lawyers of clients with the most spurious claims. He ended up settling out of court, because the legal costs would likely swamp the size of the claim. Also he was given the run around by vindictive petty officials, adding months to the project life cycle.

A disagreement with a partner that led to litigation was the last straw. Sick and tired of these cynical opportunists, depressed by the incessant midge biting, he decided to get out. The end of his American Dream. Sadly his story is all too common.

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