Something I still think about: the British media absolutely freaking out in 2017 at the prospect of an American actress joining the royal family, and how focused the British media was on Meghan Markle’s money, business associates, agent and publicist. Now I understand what we were seeing: blind panic that Meghan had people around her who were competent, qualified professionals, people she could count on to advise her and help her. So much of the Windsor reaction and media reaction to Meghan was about control, about silencing her, putting her in a box, erasing her pre-royal history and making it so that she had no other option to sit in the UK and be abused and harassed. Still, even though we’re more than two years past the Sussexit, there’s still so much panic and grotesque fascination with the Sussexes’ money and business. Speaking of:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are setting up a complex network of companies all based in the opaque tax haven state of Delaware – despite living and doing business in California. Meghan’s longtime lawyer and business manager have incorporated 11 companies and a trust for the couple since April 2020, state filings reveal, including a firm apparently set up for Harry’s multi-million-dollar memoir book deal.
Names for the companies include an intriguing Japanese term for deal making, a reference to Meghan’s freckles in Spanish, a South American river, and a possible allusion to a $44,000 ‘babymoon’ getaway the couple took in 2019. The companies are all headquartered in the Beverly Hills offices of attorney Richard Genow, who has worked with the Duchess for years.
Also appearing on company filings for all 11 firms is her business manager Andrew Meyer, a well-connected money guru whose clients have included Jon Chu, Anna Kendrick, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ellen Pompeo.
Among the companies inked by Meyer and Genow are two publishing firms. The first, Peca Publishing LLC, was set up in September 2020 and used by Meghan to hold the rights for her children’s book The Bench. The same day a second company was incorporated, Orinoco Publishing LLC – though it didn’t register its status in California until December 22, 2021. It is unclear what the couple will use Orinoco for, though it is likely it was set up to hold the rights for Harry’s blockbuster book deal with Penguin Random House for his memoir, due for publication later this year.
Think about how stupidly obsessed these people are! That’s what’s cracking me up. The Daily Mail truly had people combing through business filings in DELAWARE and they put a crack team of researchers on all of the company names. Anyway, this news just makes me feel like Meghan and Harry have all of their ducks in order when it comes to their businesses, and of course they’re looking for legal tax shelters and the like. The Windsors do the same with their money. Speaking of, wouldn’t these Daily Mail researchers be better utilized looking into who bought Prince Andrew’s Swiss ski chalet? Ten bucks says that if you dig far enough, you’ll find it was purchased by some subsidiary of Liz Windsor Inc.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** Bath, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the UK team trials for the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 at the University of Bath Sports Training Village, Bath, UK. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 6 APRIL 2018 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND ** – Meghan Markle is see leaving the Met Breuer Museum ahead of her baby shower in New York, NY on February 19, 2019. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 19 FEBRUARY 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, attend the WellChild Awards Ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, UK. Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 15 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** Windsor, UNITED KINGDOM – BGUK_1763809 – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attend a roundtable discussion on gender equality with The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) and One Young World at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, UK. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex,, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex BACKGRID USA 25 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** Windsor, UNITED KINGDOM – BGUK_1763809 – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attend a roundtable discussion on gender equality with The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) and One Young World at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, UK. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, BACKGRID USA 25 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are seen after a visit to One World Observatory with Governor Hochul and Mayor de Blasio. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen sharing a laugh with the NYC mayor as they stood for photos. The royal couple ascended to the 100th to 102nd floor observation deck of the Freedom Tower for meeting. The couple are due to spend three days in NY marking their first trip together since Megxit and following the recent birth of their daughter. and Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 23 SEPTEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
omg. I almost feel bad for the person whose job it was to comb through filings in Delaware LOL. And of course they are incorporating in DE as much as possible.
Now, let’s talk more about Andrew’s ski chalet, and all the Queen’s off-shore accounts.
Yeah 68% of all Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware, per the state of Delaware.
Super shady /s
Over my long corporate law career, I worked for three Fortune 100 companies, all incorporated in Delaware. I enjoyed this article immensely! 🤣🤣
Is Delaware code for a private island nation stashed in a remote corner of the Atlantic? Surely this hubub is not in reference to the tiny east coast state where business incorporations are public record and easy to find? Wait, a quick google search tells me that it’s not even about taxes. Business choose Delaware due to “bi-partisan political consensus in Delaware to keep the Delaware corporation statute modern and up-to-date.” It’s an interesting article, though. I did just learn something.
Not to mention the “opaque tax haven state of Delaware” was represented for many years by the current POTUS.
This article is just embarassing. “Opaque tax haven”?? Oh Mylanta.
I deal in commercial real estate transactions day in and day out and on every single deal we close with any level of complexity the SPE is a Delaware LLC. Full stop. At this point, if you are doing any kind of CMBS financing it is basically a rating agency requirement, even if it is a single member owner and regardless of asset value. That is how common it is to form in Delaware.
These guys really should stop trying to pretend to know how things are done in the US.
Too funny, maybe they think Delaware isn’t part of the US? Like it’s Switzerland or Cyprus or the Isle of Man? This is the same whining the DM did when they got hold of Archewell’s 990 – it’s an Opaque and Secretive Delaware corporation, they blared…as they read the numbers off the publicly accessible tax return.
My husband also works in CMBS too. I’m going to show him this one. The wording is soooo funny.
My understanding is that the reason why most companies choose Delaware is NOT because it’s a “tax haven” (LOL!) but because the courts and the regulations are very sophisticated when it comes to commercial matters and corporate governance.
Exactly. The court system is set up to be very predictable for corporate businesses.
Correct, I have a tax degree and that is exactly why you set up corporations there is because of case law, it is not a tax haven.
Serious question: if “60% of corporations” are incorporated in Delaware (as I just read), and the state has fewer than a million residents, is Delaware rich with government jobs to facilitate all of these incorporations? And do thousands of companies have an HQ office in Delaware with some skeleton crew of staff? Is Delaware, in fact, an employment haven?
Their precious Queen popped up in the Panama Papers….Do they really want to go there?
What? Why write about Andrew’s sketchy deals or Charles embarrassing pay-for-play deals, you know, the ones actually in England now? No, much too boring. Instead, let’s dig into M & H’s business deals and company structures. Hm, nothing wrong with those, right? Well, then let’s use some oblique language, such as “complex network of companies” to describe typical American corporate structure and “tax haven” to describe the state of Delaware – even though that’s where most corporations are typically set up regardless of where the officers reside. The BM sounds so demented and backward. Do they know nothing about business? Pathetic.
Charles’ best bud Michael Fawcett, who resigned a few months back from his position as CEO of the Prince’s Foundation over the pay for play scandal, only recently resigned from positions with four other affiliated companies. Couldn’t find the article again; do remember one of them related to the Knockroon housing development Charles wanted to build around Dumfries House. (On the surface, it would make sense to have that as a separate entity, since it’s success was a gamble – it didn’t pan out.) But under the circumstances, just the name of Fawcett being attached to any of them would make me wonder. Anyone curious there in the UK?
OMG ANOTHER DEFLECTIVE STORY TO STOP PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT ANDREW’S FINANCES. WTAF??!!!!
Look at what the ratchets are revealing without realizing it. They are so starved for information that they are combing business records in Delaware and writing about lawn maintenance. What a hoot! They still need the content, so they’ll do whatever it takes to get it. What’s next? Stealing one of Lili’s diapers from the trash and getting the contents analyzed in order to critique her diet? (You know those bitches would do just that if they could, but I’m sure that the Sussexes have that celebrity garbage service so that tabloids can’t go through their trash.)
That is HILARIOUS! LMAO
What about when they actually wrote about Meghan’s thumb, in an attempt to guess when she would give birth to Lili? These people are obsessed. It’s as if they try not to write about Meghan, and sometimes they’re successful (though at what cost). Then, the urge to discuss Meghan becomes so strong that they must indulge, but they have nothing new to report, so they resort to research on her shrubbery or eyelashes.
It’s okay BM, I really miss her too. (Damn those jealous, lazy Cambridges!).
Everyone incorporates in Delaware. I’m not seeing the issue. Many banks operate out of DE because there’s no maximum interest rate they are allowed to charge. Not a big deal.
This was Kaiser’s point right? All things transparent and above board with their business dealings, unlike their British family members.
@fluffybunny Came here to say this too. Everyone incorporates in Delaware for tax purposes. It’s a big nothingburger.
But the average UK-based DM reader doesn’t know that incorporating in Delaware is common business practice in America, so the paper can omit enough facts to make it look shady. I have no doubts other British royals with business interest in the US have Delaware incorporated holdings.
The BM really are ridiculous ,everything they want people to be outraged about the Sussexes is actually nothing of note. Unfortunately they are just getting started,when they hate a particular individual it will go on for years i remember the hate Posh & Becks,Katie Price etc used to get.
“the opaque tax haven state of Delaware.” LOL. Delaware has deliberately enacted corporate-friendly tax laws. Everyone knows that. They do that deliberately to attract corporate headquarters. Everyone knows that. That’s what Delaware is for. Delaware is not that shady. Its laws are not opaque. I love that Delaware lives in the mind of this writer as some mysterious foggy realm, with mist settling on the moors. It’s Delaware – land of corporate headquarters.
It’s basically the only thing Delaware has going for it and I say that as someone born and educated there. That and tax free shopping.
Well, that and the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Haunted Mansion … honk honk!
And tax free retirement! I’m from a neighboring state, but I’ve often considered retiring to Delaware because of that.
I love Delaware’s beaches! Bethany Beach is our favorite, though any in Delaware is miles better than Ocean City in Maryland (we’re not fans of the party vibe there).
I prefer the Jersey shore. My sister who lives in DE prefers OC,MD.
Nice beaches?
Many, many businesses incorporate in Delaware. It’s extremely common due to their business laws, and absolutely a non-story.
This should be an entire category in mental illness, I just do not understand the goal of all of this. It is sick and very scary.
I am right there with you. The obsession is getting darker and darker.
The British press can’t rely on leaks about the Sussexes from the Palace anymore so this is what they have to resort to. A non-story about the Sussexes being organised and businesslike.
I’m Guessing the RoUndtAbLe dIsCussiOn wasn’t enough then. They tried
This is just…capitalism! It’s how business works! It’s just normal business-ing with business people. I feel like Unikitty from the Lego Movie: “Business, business, business, numbers, business. Is this working?” Lololol
And yes, I’d bet my entire retirement savings that the buyer for Andy’s chalet was his mommy, via shell companies. Also capitalism in action.
They’re in for a big surprise if they do the same for Prince Charles, the Queen and Will and Kate multiple charitable entities and business
But they won’t and they should have more interest there than in H&M’s money. Notice the things the money is coming from in their case is their own work.
Omg and there is nothing shady about setting things up in Delaware. They literally taught us in law school why it’s a good idea to incorporate in Delaware. It’s all above board. How dare Harry and Meghan get sound legal and financial advice? Lol
Same with any decent accounting degree, you don’t get out of college not knowing about Delaware. It is 0% shady.
😂I LOVE how it’s killing them knowing that the sussexs are not broke/destitute..et 😆its killing them that they can’t attack them for this because big corporations like Coca-Cola & P&G are doing the same and so could only go on to mock the names!
Oh I’m so happy for them and it’s almost poetic justice that their expanding success is coming on the heels of house Windsor’s spectacular fall! The fools @ the palace might be regretting not keeping control over them.
They can’t even mock the names in a world where companies have names like “Twitter” or “Google” or “Yahoo” – it’s just a name. If I were M & H, I would have named a company after my left eyebrow, another company after Kate’s tears, and the last one after my gorgeous aqua blue dress (you know the one!).
This just in: Business owners make sound legal decisions on the advice of the highly qualified professionals they’ve hired to guide these decisions. And ::gasp:: they chose business names that resonated with them.
Oh my!
I want to purchase our next house using an LLC to stay off the radar of family I’m no contact with. When selling the idea to my husband I told him he can choose the name since he wasn’t too keen on the idea.
LOL @ SnarcasmQueen.. Truly some shocking stuff!
Now, on the other hand, nothing to see here. From Nov. 2017
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/theres-little-media-coverage-paradise-papers-63206/
What psychopaths! Who has time to dig into people’s business like this, when there’s a bear-doing-stuff-with pedophile right there!!
Jeremy Vine has his 10 years old daughter listed as a share-holder with his company for tax purposes. Though this is absurd, it is not illegal. Do the rotas really want people to start looking in their holdings too? They might f–k around and find out. They should go ahead and kick the hornet nest.
Imma light a Gritty prayer candle and pray for their souls. They don’t really want to fuck around and find out.
I don’t know much about business let alone US business stuff but I imagine this is all pretty standard for most businesses.
These people are so f*cking stupid.
There are two reasons why Delaware dominates the incorporation process. First is the bi-partisan political consensus in Delaware to keep the Delaware corporation statute modern and up-to-date, and to rely on Delaware’s corporate law specialists for advice in how to do this. As a result, law students at every law school in the United States study the Delaware corporation statute and the decisions of Delaware courts interpreting that law.
Second, it’s the high quality of their courts and judges. They have a special court, the Court of Chancery, to rule on corporate law disputes without juries. Corporate cases therefore do not get stuck on dockets behind a multitude of non-corporate cases. Instead, Delaware corporations can expect their business and legal issues to be addressed promptly and expertly by judges who specialize in corporate law.
Their readers are not critical thinkers. They’ll just accept everything printed and the dastardly implications behind it.
The royal rota got high on the supply of the leaks that they were getting from the palace & since they’ve been cut off they are doing the most to get stories. Camilla Tominey’s article about their ability to water their lawn was one of the most desperately pathetic articles I’d seen. No wonder they are more eager than fans for Archewell to release content or for Harry to attend the Philip memorial.
You just know that the press have been snooping, trying to find people to bribe for info on Montecito happenings. Funny that a body that represents the head of U.K. state & does international diplomacy is so tacky to be leaking lots of crap to tabloids but people in Harry’s new life in ‘Hollywood’ seem to be able to keep his counsel.
The irony is fascinating. The much maligned “crass Hollywood types” and “brash American capitalists” are able to keep their mouths shut and be professional while the self proclaimed arbiters of all that is proper in the UK keep running their mouths and just blatantly lying.
It’s because of their class system. They hire people based on their connections instead of their ethics which is why they’ve got so many leaks. They also pay shit wages so everyone has to make money on the side to survive.
Yup, it’s the difference between real decorum and performative manners. “Stiff upper lip” my as$.
I can’t believe the sheer stupidity coming out of this island. As someone who has setup literally 100s of companies in Delaware, companies set up shop here because the state is corporate friendly and they have the most developed corporate laws in the country. Also, if you have a dispute you want to it heard before a Delaware court. Delaware is in fact not a tax haven. Furthermore, while Delaware does have low corporate taxes Harry and Meghan would still need to pay taxes in the states you operate in. Unlike, say if you were to setup in Panama for instance like members of the not very racist royal family.
Are they purposely trying to give these businesses a bad name. Let’s talk about the queen offshore tax haven
The DM’s audience is dim. They would have to print the company names daily for that crowd to remember them.
Nope. Everyone does it, so I’m not going to ding H&M for it, but the whole Delaware corporate registration system is shady AF. The US denounces and fights money laundering and corrupt banking around the world, while Delaware has even laxer laws, with South Dakota right behind. Russian oligarchs park their money in the US, hiding behind Delaware corporations and laundering the money through high end real estate and shadowy corporate dealings.
A huge part of why the US is in the mess that it is is because of rampant white-collar and corporate crime. Delaware corporations and their lax laws about transparent ownership are a large part of the problem. Having all the corporations incorporated in Delaware also robs the other states of corporate tax revenue and makes holding companies accountable to local laws more difficult.
I grew up going to the Delaware beaches every summer. Highly recommend, they are set up and run with young families in mind. The Rehobeth boardwalk and arcade is a delight. But the state does enable a lot of bad behavior on a national and international scale.
I worked for a business school professor whose area included international corruption. He frequently testified at The Hague and other international tribunals, helping countries get back the money stolen by dictators. The US cracked down elsewhere, and everyone just moved their shite to Delaware. Almost like it was planned.
Yes. Delaware IS shady and a lot of credit card companies set up there precisely because THEY are shady too.
With that said, it’s not Meghan and Harry’s fault or their responsibility.
Also — now do Andrew! Get some of those crack reporters on HIS shady finances and income from depots and gun runners!
DE doesn’t not have a legal limit to what interest rates banks can charge which is why credit card companies are based there.
It seems like they have sound business practices and are doing what is pretty standard. Saw a lot of Twitter that setting up LLCs in Delaware is fairly standard business practice. Seems like they have a solid team that will protect their business interests. I’m so glad Meghan maintained ties to her financial advisers and others from her pre-royal life, which allowed them to navigate the uncertainty when they left and get set up in their new life. The thing is, if any of the royals marry anyone with substantial wealth, that person will have their own financial interests to maintain and if they’re smart, they will keep it as far away from the courtiers and royal family as possible.
^^ Exactly @L4Frimaire. Meghan kept her business associates, including her tax & investment company and her p.r. firm because she’s smart. She had a successful career, and she was at the point of transitioning from Suits and planning next career moves when she met Harry. She wouldn’t suddenly break off business ties. She would have thought everything through very carefully throughout the courtship with Harry. They both would have been discussing all variety of logistics.
Plus, as we found out during the Oprah interview, grey men and others in the royal firm were suggesting to Meghan that she could continue acting, and they made noises about not being able to afford paying for her royal wardrobe, etc. There’s obviously still a lot we don’t know about all that went on in the lead-up to M&H’s marriage and beyond. I hope we are eventually able to find out more of the truth.
Other huge reasons why Meghan would maintain her business and legal contacts is because she still had to pay U.S. taxes, and she was likely eventually going to apply for British citizenship. I doubt that she was ever planning to relinquish her U.S. citizenship, because she would have been able to have dual citizenship. But that became a moot point when the Sussexes departed the U.K.
The biggest reason, which a lot of people don’t seem to realize: Meghan still receives royalties from her acting career, and she will continue to as long as the movies and tv shows she appeared in are streamed, broadcast, syndicated, sold to consumers in different formats, etc. Meghan is also an astute networker. She would never drop anyone she’s developed close, loyal ties and ongoing bonds of trust with, for both personal and professional reasons.
I vaguely remember a couple Meg haters trying to make a thing of this on Twitter last year but I don’t remember who it was.
I wanted to reply to the reply of Comment #16. Here goes: I wasn’t able to post there for some reason. Dear Fluffy bunny. Thank-you for that mention of Gritty. That comment was gold (perhaps with orange tint)!! Dead💀😵🪦!!! I wasn’t able to post there for some reason.
I grew up on Flyers hockey in the suburbs of Philly and love that meth muppet. It’s my favorite insult. Gritty is the true embodiment of the Philly spirit. I’m also partial to the Phanatic. But he gives off a friendly aura.
Gritty is The. Ultimate. Just the fact he helped Trump lose the election cements his place in history. And I’m a Jersey Chick. 🙂
Oh boy, This is how they started the rumors that they were broke. I think its to much of an invasion into their private life.
I have zero business acumen and even I managed to learn that incorporating in Delaware is a smart business practice. The British press regularly disperses misinformation and its moronic readership spew it back out as gospel. Meghan really had no idea what she was walking into with the tabloid situation there because it does not exist in the same shape or form in America.
“Completely above board business practices”
The actual NERVE of the Sussexes to do that. How dare they!!!🙄
jeezum crow, talk about desperation
I agree that the RR’s have more pressing issues to uncover regarding the trappings of the BRF than scouring through millions of commercial records in Delaware. Though I am not familiar with the corporate dealings in Delaware, I don’t think that how Harry and Meghan are opening their businesses is of anyones business!!
I agree that they would dig through Harry and Meghans trash as well! I wouldn’t be surprised if they set up a camera on their street to the allow them the ability to see when and who leaves.
The RR’s aren’t even actual journalists. I liken them to the scum found in the deep underbellies of NYC sewer lines. They should move there with the rest of the rats of NYC. No disrespect to my NYC Celebitchies Crew!!
Okay. Now you have really caught us . Massive eye roll. Now let’s talk Andy finances? And while we are at it where do the rest hide theirs? Like how did Philip get all that money he died and left?
As long as the businesses are legit, and US and UK applicable taxes are oaid, what the story? Oh I know, the Sussexes are not living in a box under the freeway. I hope the Markles are seeing this, knowing that despite theie bullying they still shop at Walmart while Harry and Meghan live the platinum life.
Great work, daily fail! You are getting super good at this investigative reporting stuff – now do Andrew’s shady financials. No excuse now.
Harry and Meghan are serious about their business. This is not some Big Buttons Early Research Center with offices in the hall closet. They were serious about making money and becoming financially independent.
Meanwhile they ignore what’s really going on with the Crown Estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the tax havens named in the Paradise papers.
The UK is not the democracy it thinks it is with the Windsor family hiding all its assets without taxation or accountability.