Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Billionaire Dynasty of Only Men Turns to Women to Handle Fortune

GrosvenorFor 345, the Grosvenor dynasty has maintained their $11.6 billion fortune within their male lineage. Now, women are now playing an increasing role in managing the family’s London-based namesake investment firm.

The Grosvenor’s have holdings in urban property, country estates, and agricultural technology and have appointed Henrietta Gourlay to manage most of the external funds, Cindy MacMillan as Vice President of the North American investment team, and Emily Petrila as Vice President for legal counsel in North America. The Grosvenor’s people directed said in a statement, “We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce which reflects the communities in which we operate… Part of this approach means increasing the number of women at the senior end of our organisation.”

The Grosvenor lineage can be traced back nearly 1,000 years, and the main source of wealth can be attributed to a 17th century marriage when Sir Thomas Grosvenor received a dowry containing 121 hectares of swamp and orchard from his bride’s family. She was 12 years old at the time of the marriage. The fortune is structured to operate as a male primogeniture, giving sons the ability to displace daughters in the line of succession. In the 1950s, the Grosvenor family placed their main assets in a series of trusts to protect the estate from spendthrift heirs, divorce and other threats, leaving the family to receive the benefits but having no ‘absolute right’ to the assets. 

For more information:

See Benjamin Stupples “Billionaire Dynasty of Only Men Turns to Women to Handle Fortune” Bloomberg Wealth, August 1, 2022.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2022/08/billionaire-dynasty-of-only-men-turns-to-women-to-handle-fortune.html

Estate Planning – Generally, Trusts | Permalink

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