It is something that rich people do to show they are a philanthropist by selling shares of their company or donating them to the charity or organization they control and their children will inherit.<p>It goes way back over the years to the Rockefeller family and others.<p>Not only is it a tax shelter, they can control what the charity or whatever does.  It is a good way to avoid paying a capital gains tax by donating shares to their own charity or organization.<p>A pity the taxes on the shares could have been collected by the federal government and used to pay off our national debt or create some good paying jobs.<p>People who aren&#x27;t billionaires have to pay a capital gains tax if they sell shares that have a value more than the original investment.