$100 million gift to fund $200,000 per Olympic athlete

[crewu]

Why Billionaire Ross Stevens Donated $100 Million to Pay Every U.S. Olympian and Paralympian https://share.google/3qJnw459vAg9H7UFS

[lt.wolf]

You have to read the fine print

Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away

[socalstroke]

Another version of the AUS Futures Fund. They need time for the principal investment to grow but seems like a big mismatch with the timing of athletes' financial need. The death benefit is particularly odd.

[Mango]

You have to read the fine print

Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away

So for somebody like Lindsey Vonn (injury aside), She would be eligible for her $100k at this years games. Her first team was 2002.

[sandor]

You have to read the fine print

Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away

So for somebody like Lindsey Vonn (injury aside), She would be eligible for her $100k at this years games. Her first team was 2002.

No, she would still have 20 years to wait - it is the later of age 45 or 20 years after first qualifying Olympic Games (Milan Cortina) so Vonn would have to wait until she is 61 years old to collect part 1.


It is better than nothing, but circa $300 a month in 2 lumps sums at mid-life & death is a bit "meh"

[fullmetal]

Yeah, I don't think anyone is staying in-cycle hoping to make the team for the additional promise of something 20+ yrs later. It is a very generous gesture to be sure, but it probably means more to existing Olympians than it does to those sacrificing to make their first Games. After all, food and shelter this month and next are far more pressing issues than financial security 20 yrs later--if you even make the team. The award doesn't materially support someone's chances of making a team.

As socalstroke says, it's a mismatch in the timing of athletes' financial need.

[Mango]

You have to read the fine print

Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away

So for somebody like Lindsey Vonn (injury aside), She would be eligible for her $100k at this years games. Her first team was 2002.

No, she would still have 20 years to wait - it is the later of age 45 or 20 years after first qualifying Olympic Games (Milan Cortina) so Vonn would have to wait until she is 61 years old to collect part 1.


It is better than nothing, but circa $300 a month in 2 lumps sums at mid-life & death is a bit "meh"

Sorry, a bit of a typo. She would get her first $100k in 4 years when she turned 45 in 2029. Her first games were 2002, so she meets the 20 year requirement. 45 would be the later.

[sandor]

You have to read the fine print

Billionaire financier Ross Stevens is changing that. Starting with the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, he will give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete—even if they don’t win a medal. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Half will come 20 years after their first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45, whichever comes later. Another $100,000 will be in the form of a guaranteed benefit for their families after they pass away

So for somebody like Lindsey Vonn (injury aside), She would be eligible for her $100k at this years games. Her first team was 2002.

No, she would still have 20 years to wait - it is the later of age 45 or 20 years after first qualifying Olympic Games (Milan Cortina) so Vonn would have to wait until she is 61 years old to collect part 1.


It is better than nothing, but circa $300 a month in 2 lumps sums at mid-life & death is a bit "meh"

Sorry, a bit of a typo. She would get her first $100k in 4 years when she turned 45 in 2029. Her first games were 2002, so she meets the 20 year requirement. 45 would be the later.

Again, it isn't super clear, but it seems like the first "qualifying games" for Vonn is Milan Cortina.
My gut says the first payouts from this fund will be in 2046.

Given that every Olympic appearance gets the athlete another $200,000, i cannot imagine they are paying for anything pre-Milan Cortina.
So it is 45 years old or 20 years after Milan Cortina, whichever is later.

Reading more, the first $100,000 is over 4 years - so roughly $2000 a month.

Starting with the Olympic and Paralympic Games Milan-Cortina 2026, and going at least through the 2032 Games, every U.S. Olympian and Paralympian will receive $200,000 in financial benefits for each Games in which they compete:

$100,000 to Live: eligible athletes will be able to access this award 20 years after their qualifying Games or at 45 years of age, whichever is later. The grant will be paid over the course of four years and can be used for any purpose, such as starting a business or supporting their families.

https://www.usopc.org/news/2025/march/0 ... a-athletes

[caustic]

What a weird carrot to dangle. Why not just pay them right now? I don't understand why rich people need to complicate things unnecessarily.

[sandor]

What a weird carrot to dangle. Why not just pay them right now? I don't understand why rich people need to complicate things unnecessarily.

Probably tax purposes.
Have to ensure that you pay a lower effective tax rate than the average American.


But realistically, it is probably in hope of growing the fund, and being able to payout off earnings - capital begets capital. Trying to pay athletes while securing the longevity of the fund = future payouts, not immediate. An annuity may also lower the tax burden of the recipient.

Even a modest 5.6% yield would turn that $100 million into $300 million in 20 years.

It will take, very roughly, $700 million to cover all the athletes through 2032 in Brisbane (interesting they didn't end with Utah in 2034)....but in 20 years @ an average return of 10.5%, the fund would be earning $70 million a year - enough to cover 700 athletes - more than the 600 that went to Paris.

(Remember that Stone Ridge (the donors company) has its top securities funds posting three-year annualized returns of 35% and 17% - don't get too excited, the minimum initial investment is $15 million)

[socalstroke]

Has the AUS OLY Futures Fund gotten a better reception? Similar concept being a long term annuity. What about the 10k pregnancy retention bonus? Better than nothing but doesnt even get you through one year of a OLY cycle.

[Mandolorian]

Can former Olympians retroactively qualify?? Kind of sucks for people who made more than 4 or 5 Olympics ago that they can't get a piece of the pie....

[sandor]

Can former Olympians retroactively qualify?? Kind of sucks for people who made more than 4 or 5 Olympics ago that they can't get a piece of the pie....

It seems like the Milan Cortina is the first Olympics that qualify for $200,000

Hey, funds are not unlimited & you have to start somewhere.

….Yale just made tuition free for families with AGI under $200,000 - sucks for the kids that just graduated.