Will Seippel

Last updated
Will Seippel
Born
William H. Seippel

1957 (age 6768)
Alma mater George Mason University and American University
Occupation Businessman
Known forBusiness turnaround specialist, business founder and the 2004 IRS tax shelter controversy

Will Seippel is an American business executive, turnaround specialist, and company founder. [1] He is also an active donor, with primary support efforts going to Make a Wish Foundation and George Mason University, [2] where he received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Seippel grew up in a small Southern town in the United States. [4] He obtained a bachelor's degree in science from George Mason University and a master's degree in business administration from American University.

Career

Prior to founding WorthPoint, Seippel served as executives to multiple corporations and as a consultant to various boards of directors on mergers and acquisitions, as well as on strategic business and financial planning at the follow organizations.

During 25 plus years of financial and operational experience, Seippel successfully negotiated more than 20 acquisitions. He played a leading role in structuring complex transactions that raised $5 billion in capital, two of which received the prestigious Institutional Investor Deal of the Year award. [6] One of these transactions included the launching of the first Euro denominated bond for the first European fiber loop, Hermes Europe Railtel. Seippel also listed three companies on the NASDAQ; two of them involved initial public offerings. [7]

Seippel later became the founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Worthpoint Corporation, a global resource for researching, valuing, and buying/selling antiques, art and vintage collectibles. [8] Worthpoint is Seippel's first startup, which he describes as a company "... on its way to becoming the Bloomberg of the world's antiques and collectibles industry". [9]

WorthPoint ranked on the Inc. list of companies in 2013. [10] WorthPoint.com services include a price guide for researching and valuing antiques, art, and collectibles; a resource gallery for identifying makers’ marks; and a digital library of books from leading publishers on a wide range of collecting topics. WorthPoint’s Worthopedia price guide gives subscribers access to more than 480 million historical prices and over 1.2 billion photographs, with data dating as far back as 2006 aggregated from online marketplaces, including eBay and from several leading auction houses. [11]

2004 IRS tax shelter controversy

Seippel also is known for the 2004 IRS tax shelter controversy and subsequent case Seippel v. Jenkens & Gilchrist against the Sidley Austin Brown & Wood law firm. [12] In this action, Seippel was successful in demonstrating that the defendants misrepresented the nature of the tax product they sold to him (the Cobra tax strategy in 1999). Subsequently, Seippel prepared to file suit against the IRS for attempting to wrongfully impose excessive interest and penalties against him, but the IRS withdrew its action, and the suit was never filed.

Philanthropy

Seippel has a strong commitment to education and has received various awards for his contributions, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from George Mason University and the Business School's Alumni of the Year award in 2009. He currently serves as chairman of the advisory board for the School of Management at George Mason University.

References

  1. "Will Seippel - WorthPoint | LinkedIn".
  2. "News".
  3. "Alumni Awards". Costello College of Business.
  4. "Q&A: Will Seippel". Antiques and the Arts Weekly. October 11, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Our Management: William H. Seippel -- Digital Commerce Corporation". www.digitalcommerce.com. Archived from the original on 2000-07-11. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  6. "WorthPoint Raises Capital to Help You Discover the Hidden Value of Your Treasures". Forbes .
  7. "WorthPoint Raises Capital to Help You Discover the Hidden Value of Your Treasures". Forbes .
  8. "About us". Worthpoint.
  9. "WorthPoint, the World's Largest Resource for Researching Art, Antiques and Collectibles, Graduates from ATDC". 13 June 2011.
  10. "The 2013 Inc. 5000 List - through | Inc.com". Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  11. "WorthPoint".
  12. Lin, Anthony. "Law.com - Suit Against Sidley Austin Over Tax Plan Proceeds". www.law.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-15.