Jeff Ernsthausen

 Have a tip? Send it Here!
Jeff Ernsthausen is a senior data reporter at ProPublica.

How The Ultrawealthy Use Private Foundations To Bank Millions In Tax Deductions While Giving The Public Little In Return
It’s a simple bargain: The rich get huge tax breaks by donating art, property and company shares to benefit the public. But some donors collect millions while offering little or no public access.
IRS Strategic Plan Vows To Amp Up Audits of the Rich
With $80 billion in new funding, the previously gutted agency pledged to renew its pursuit of wealthy tax dodgers and address a number of problems that ProPublica has been reporting on in recent years.
How The Wealthy Save Billions In Taxes By Skirting A Century-Old Law
Congress outlawed tax deductions on “wash sales” in 1921, but Goldman Sachs and others have helped billionaires like Steve Ballmer see huge tax savings by selling stocks for a loss and then replacing them with nearly identical investments.
Meet The Billionaire And Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming The Tax System
Susquehanna founder and TikTok investor Jeff Yass has avoided $1 billion in taxes while largely escaping public scrutiny. He’s now pouring his money into campaigns to cut taxes and support election deniers.
Edward Wyllis Scripps wears a top hat for a portrait. Scripps founded the first major newspaper chain in the United States and the United Press syndicate. The Great Inheritors: How Three Families Shielded Their Fortunes From Taxes For Generations
In the early 1900s some of the wealthiest Americans claimed their fortunes would never last through the generations. A century of tax avoidance later, the dynasties are going strong.
A Massive Oil Spill Helped One Billionaire Avoid Paying Income Tax for 14 Years
Phyllis Taylor’s company is responsible for the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history. That’s been a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico — but a tax bonanza for Taylor.
When You’re A Billionaire, Your Hobbies Can Slash Your Tax Bill
Thoroughbred horses, auto racing, massive ranches, luxury hotels. The hobbies and side businesses of the ultrawealthy create huge write-offs that can let them get away with paying little or no income tax for as much as a decade at a time.
These Real Estate And Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years
Donald Trump and other ultrarich Americans have earned billions, but they’ve also managed to repeatedly avoid paying any federal income tax by claiming huge losses on their businesses.
Cash These Billionaires Received Taxpayer-Funded Stimulus Checks During the Pandemic
IRS records reveal that 18 billionaires and some 250 other ultrawealthy people received aid intended to help middle-class Americans.
More Than Half of America’s 100 Richest People Exploit Special Trusts to Avoid Estate Taxes
Secret IRS records show billionaires use trusts that let them pass fortunes to their heirs without paying estate tax. Will Congress end a tax shelter that has cost the Treasury untold billions?
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: