John Koskinen’s phone has been ringing a lot these days. The 84-year-old former IRS Commissioner known as “Mr. Fix-It” may be retired, but he sits on the board of three non-profit organizations, is an advisor to two startups, plays tennis several times a week, remains an avid theatergoer, enjoys time with his family, and still prioritizes interviews about everything from IRS controversy to charitable trust strategy innovations. Koskinen’s humility (“I'm not sure anyone else wanted the job,” he says of his four-year post at the IRS under President Obama) belies an extraordinary professional trajectory and ongoing influence in both public and private sectors. With a career spanning federal judge clerkship, law practice, political campaign management, turning around failing enterprises, and political appointments by Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, Mr. Fix-It’s clear-sightedness has a far-reaching impact. Yet of all these accomplishments, it’s the endowment he set up for his alma mater, Duke University, using a charity lead annuity trust (CLAT) that’s offered the most enduring fulfillment.
After graduating from Duke with a degree in Physics in 1961, Koskinen set out to Yale School of Law: “I decided that people were more interesting than electrons.” Thirty-seven years later—inspired by his years at Duke, keen human interest, and desire to preserve his children’s inheritance—Koskinen set up a charity lead annuity trust to benefit the university. While endowment programs have long sought out generous contributions from donors, Koskinen was ahead of his time in using a CLAT to provide exponential yearly benefits to both donor and institution. Koskinen’s CLAT used the appreciation from his invested stocks to fund athletic scholarships and to build a 4,500-seat, state-of-the-art lacrosse and soccer stadium (that now carries his name) at Duke. These projects helped elevate the university's sports program to national prominence. Koskinen's leadership demonstrated the CLAT’s power as one of the most robust estate planning tools available for both philanthropy and generational wealth creation.
