“I was in such shock that Alex was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, the last thing I wanted to learn was about our finances,” says Jean Trebek.
When Trebek became a widow in 2020, on top of the shock and grief, she was suddenly responsible for managing her family’s money. While she had worked in real estate and run a floristry business, it was her husband Alex, the genial host of US quiz show Jeopardy!, who had taken care of longer-term financial planning and investments.
Alex’s strategy had been “more aggressive” than Trebek now felt comfortable with, given that his salary was no longer coming in, so she restructured her advisers and then the family’s portfolio. At the same time she was learning about the stock market, trusts and more. She says it took her three years to feel fully comfortable with the details and turn the strategy from wealth expansion to wealth preservation.