The 125 living fourth, fifth and sixth generation descendants of George Gavin Brown, heirs to the Lexington, Kentucky-based Jack Daniel's whiskey fortune, own roughly 29% of the company's total shares, according to FactSet. The company doesn't publicly state its insider holdings, and a spokesperson declined to comment.
With Brown Forman's (BFB) special dividend, the family will reap an estimated $238 million in payouts. By getting this in 2012, the family will pay roughly $36 million in taxes with dividends taxed at 15%. In 2013, if dividend taxes jump to 43.4%, the Brown family members would pay up to $103 million.
Unlike most companies that are paying out dividends with cash already on their balance sheet, Brown Forman borrowed roughly $800 million in the debt markets to hand cash back to shareholders.
