By Ivan G. Goldman
Extremely well-heeled Floyd Mayweather, who for years now has been a member in good standing of the fat-cat class, told the TMZ gossip site that he hasn’t cashed either of his checks from his wins over Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor.
It’s not clear precisely why he would choose such a wacky path, but those checks, which he promised to post online, may amount to $600 million, give or take a lot of millions. Working with that nice round number, let’s looks at what’s happening if they’re actually sitting in a drawer someplace.
Any competent financial manager could earn him 4% on that amount with little risk. That amounts to $24 mil a year. So he’d be losing approximately $65,753 a day by not cashing the checks. For $65,753 a day he could tip a lot of strippers.
But there’s another fly in the ointment, a rather sizeable fly too. According to Forbes magazine, which is ordinarily a much better source for financial information than TMZ, the Uniform Commercial Code dictates that banks in the U.S. aren’t legally obligated to pay checks older than six months.
Does that mean Mayweather would never collect on the two-year-old Pacquiao check? Not really, though it could create a bureaucratic and/or legal mess. Still, he’d likely get his money eventually and maybe even immediately.
On the other hand, if he’s really sitting on those checks, then whatever financial entity that issued them would be a grateful beneficiary of Floyd’s goofy choice. Because that check-writer would almost certainly be smart enough to be collecting and keeping the interest and dividends that don’t apparently interest Floyd, therefore getting richer to the tune of that same $65,753 a day. That’s one of the laws of money. It’s always working for somebody even when it’s sitting around and ostensibly doing nothing.
What’s more, Floyd wouldn’t even get a tax deduction for his massive blooper. The IRS doesn’t grant tax breaks for outright ignorance.
Let’s be clear on this. I don’t begrudge Mayweather his millions. He did more to earn them than some spoiled little creep who’s not sure how many mansions he inherited. But if Floyd is really sitting on some big uncashed checks he really ought to reconsider. There are a lot of recent victims of natural disaster who need help and encouragement. And charitable contributions are in fact tax-deductible.
Ivan G. Goldman’s 5th novel The Debtor Class (Permanent Press, 2015) is a ‘gripping …triumphant read,’ says Publishers Weekly. A future cult classic with ‘howlingly funny dialogue,’ says Booklist. Available wherever fine books are sold. Goldman is a New York Times best-selling author.
