“Family-Influenced, Trans-Generational Wealth Creation”, Today’s Question: The Same or Different?

June 12, 2011Family Wealth Consulting

In their 2002 article*, Habbershon and Pistrui coin the term “family-influenced, trans-generational wealth creation.” They distinguish their concept from the traditional notion of “family business” which usually connotes several generations of a family passing down a single business from generation to generation, within the family, sometimes building it along the way. They argue that for families with trans-generational wealth creation as a goal, an entrepreneurial sense is essential, and that being wedded to one business entity (and the founder’s legacy) Read more »

Paul Cézanne, Esquire???

May 12, 2011Family Wealth Consulting

Last year I went to a Paul Cézanne exhibit in Philadelphia and was surprised to learn that this famous artist struggled to pursue his passion against his father’s wishes. His father, a successful banker, insisted that Paul attend law school rather than pursue painting. Paul did attend law school for a couple of years before abandoning that path and defiantly moving to Paris causing a rift between father and son. Eventually, Paul’s father came to realize the importance of his Read more »

Snow, Sledding, Siblings – and the Family Business

March 12, 2011Family Wealth Consulting

Here in the Northeast, the snow has finally melted enough that I can bear to write about it and I no longer feel the shovel-induced aches in my back. During one of several days when our sons’ school was closed due to snow, I took them sledding. While sitting at the top of the hill I noticed a mom pull up and four kids got out of her minivan. The oldest, a girl who seemed to be about 16, was Read more »