The possibility of Corus Entertainment Inc. disappearing may astound people. However, there is a common pattern following intergenerational transfers of business interests. Reuter’s Chris Taylor reported:
70 percent of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation, and a stunning 90 percent by the third…
U.S. Trust recently surveyed high-net-worth individuals with more than $3 million in investable assets to find out how they are preparing the next generation for handling significant wealth.
“Looking at the numbers, 78 percent feel the next generation is not financially responsible enough to handle inheritance,” says Chris Heilmann, U.S. Trust’s chief fiduciary executive...
The Shaw family’s initial wealth was created in southwestern Ontario. Francis Shaw (1896-198) began several businesses including Shawcor, a highly successful pipe coating enterprise. JR Shaw (1934-2020) worked for his father and moved to Edmonton where he formed Shawcor subsidiary Capital Cable Television Company. JR also developed a broadcasting segment. The Edmonton operation split from Shawcor and became Shaw Cablesystems Ltd., then Shaw Communications Inc.
JR Shaw served as CEO until replacement by his son Jim Shaw (1957-2018). Jim’s brother Brad became CEO in 2010. Using the name Corus, the company separated its media assets in 1998. After Rogers acquired Shaw’s telecommunication businesses, the Shaw family’s main interest was Corus Entertainment. JR Shaw’s daughter Heather serves as Board Chair.
The classic Buddenbrooks downcurve looks like this.
Great dynasties of the world: The Buddenbrooks effect
There is a founder of the dynasty. They achieve great success: they build a better mousetrap.
Their son or daughter then struggles to achieve similar or greater success: there are only so many amazing things one family can do with a mousetrap.
Then along come the grandchildren, who turn out to be nogoodniks who squander the inheritance, sully the family name, and sell the mousetrap business. And so back to square one.
Categories: Corus
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From my experience, the sons and daughters of wealthy parents tend to do poorly, with a few exceptions.
If the daughters or sons marry wealth and maintain their wealthy status.
If the children are quite bright and have a good work ethic.
Luck.
I have luck, being an only child I inherited wealth, in the form of a house and property. The assessed value of over $2 mil. The house is 60 years old and like me it creaks and leaks!
I am trying to maintain the house and property for my children to pass along the “Luck”.
My relatives have both married into money or have inherited money, thus maintaining wealth. Only two of my relative’s children are quite bright and have created wealth through shrewd business dealings and their children will benefit, as they have not married into wealth and depend on their parents largess to maintain their pretense of wealth. The rest will slowly decline into gentile poverty.
So, there you have it. I believe this is true with all families.
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