The Los Angeles Business Journal today released its annual Wealthiest Angelenos special report. This year, reporter Richard Clough decided to speak with LA’s most affluent residents about the complications in raising children when there are billions of dollars at stake. In his article “Keep it in the Family?”, Clough determines that family ties can blind business owners to their children’s shortcomings, which can hurt a company.
According to Grace Russak, senior vice president of Whittier Trust Co., a wealth management firm in South Pasadena that handles intergenerational wealth transfers for billionaires and other affluent individuals, “It’s a huge concern. Who is going to take over the company and how is that going to ensure that the company is properly positioned and managed and how will that affect family dynamics?”