Now 52, he pioneered a way of turning industrial development bonds into tax-exempt money market funds.

FORBES: The office-park deduction

The comments have local politicians looking to state legislators for some sort of guarantee program, says Buck Landry, a managing director at Morgan Keegan, a Memphis investment bank that dominates the market for underwriting tax-exempt municipal and local bonds in the region.

FORBES: Party's Over

The basic rule for donations of art and collectibles is this: If you've held the work for more than a year and the recipient charity uses it in a manner related to its tax-exempt purpose, you can deduct the work's fair market value, while not paying the usual 28% tax on the appreciation.

FORBES: Artful Deductions

Currently (and for the foreseeable future) the primary investor market for hedge funds is the United States, consisting of US tax-exempt investors, such as public and private pension funds and university endowments, and US high net worth investors.

FORBES: The Simple Truth about Hedge Funds