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案例库 · 法务与合规 · 法务决策 · 1977–1980

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Studio 54 earned $7M in its first year — its owners went to prison and lost it

The world's most famous nightclub opened in April 1977; in January 1980 founders Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager were jailed for tax evasion, and the club closed.

Studio 54 · 1980-01

怎么回事

Studio 54 opened on 26 April 1977 in Manhattan, founded by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, and within months became the most famous nightclub on earth — 2,000 guests a night behind the most selective door in New York, and $7 million taken in the first year. In November 1977 Rubell boasted that 'only the Mafia made more money.'

The takings never reached the taxman. Roughly $2.5 million — about 60 percent of receipts over two years — was skimmed, and a tip from a disgruntled ex-employee brought the IRS raiding in December 1978. On 18 January 1980 Rubell and Schrager were each sentenced to three and a half years in prison and fined $20,000.

The club lost its liquor licence on 29 February 1980 and shut at the end of March. Mark Fleischman bought it for $5 million and reopened the room in September 1981, but Studio 54 as its founders made it had ended in a courtroom.

为什么会这样

  • About 60 percent of receipts were skimmed for two years: the club's own success made the evasion large enough to matter.
  • A single tip from a disgruntled ex-employee brought the IRS; the secrecy was as fragile as the door policy was strict.
  • With the founders in prison and the licence gone, no brand loyalty could keep the room open.
代价3.5-year sentences, the club shut in months代价高昂

教训

Studio 54 earned $7M in its first year and skimmed 60% of its receipts for two — until one ex-employee's tip reached the IRS; the founders went to prison and the club shut within months.

后来呢

Fleischman's reopened club ran until April 1986; Rubell and Schrager later rebuilt their careers in the hotel business.

资料来源

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