That’s the headline of a New York Times article that could just as well call them “small businesses.”
Recessions, like bullies, always pick on the weak, but few victims feel more beaten down these days than the millions of Americans with family businesses. Most run small operations with just a few employees, and failure often means [...]
FOBs in the News
Subscribe to FOBs in the NewsFamily Businesses Reeling in Recession?
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Posted in FOBs in the News | No Comments »
Stanford Law no substitute for understanding the family business?
Sunday, July 5th, 2009The paper that broke the Watergate scandal and boasts more than 40 Pulitzer prizes found itself with ink on its face this week, over a “pay to play” invitation for lobbyists to get special contacts with Post reporters and editors.
Tags: boards, family history, legacy, succession
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When Adult Kids Move Home
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009“If you’re going to let a young adult move home, then you should at least have some rules about what’s what. Blog post from attn:money
Tags: children and money, financial education
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Psychologists or Sycophants?
Saturday, May 9th, 2009This opinion piece elicited a number of letters from colleagues, of the “I’ve had the same thoughts but was afraid to utter them” variety, when published 14 years ago in the Family Firm Institute newsletter. I’m reprinting it now because so much in the news has made me feel exactly the same way.
Does high and [...]
Tags: crime, human capital, secrets
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Family trees: the look forward
Friday, May 1st, 2009Michael Kleiman, son of our friend and family business dynamics colleague Jerry Kleiman, has been posting on The Huffington Post about the production of his documentary film The Last Survivor. In this last post, Michael describes one of the conversations in his film, between a refugee newly arrived in St. Louis, imagining the family tree [...]
Tags: biography, family history, film, legacy
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Trustee willing to settle for fee of $120M
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009Former Cleveland Indians owner Dick Jacobs sues his niece and nephews for compensation of $120M. To be fair, that’s only $8M a year for 15 years’ service as the trustee of their father’s estate.
Tags: feuds, inherited wealth, trusts
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Flynt stops nephews from sullying his good name
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009“Hustler” publisher Larry Flynt sues his nephews, Jimmy and Dustin Flynt, to block their use of his (and their) name.
“To come into the adult entertainment business and use my name not only confuses people who buy my products, but if they’re not maintaining a certain quality, it could also hurt my name,” Flynt told the [...]
Tags: legacy, succession
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Let’s talk about crooked family businesses.
Friday, March 27th, 2009How many Gottis and Madoffs are there among family firms?
Tags: crime, Madoff
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What Would Rockwell Do?
Friday, December 28th, 2007Three brothers have been fighting in court for 13 years over an estate that includes a dozen of Norman Rockwell’s most famous paintings.
Tags: feuds, litigation
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FBI Raids Congressman’s Family Business
Monday, May 7th, 2007U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona, has stepped down from his position on the House Intelligence Committee while his family’s business is investigated.
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