Family and Business

There is a common saying that the first generation creates the wealth, the second generation spends the wealth and the third generation blows the wealth.

The Family Business Institute calculates that only 30% of such businesses survive into the second generation, only 12% into the third generation and only 3% into the fourth. The question then is: how does a family-owned conglomerate or business navigate the challenges to continue to thrive, grow and buck the statistics?

According to a report by The Economist in 2015, the top 15 families in Malaysia control assets worth 76% of the country’s gross domestic product. These include Robert Kuok’s Kerry Group, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay’s Genting Group, Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng’s IOI Group, Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan’s Hong Leong Group and Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay’s YTL Group which are involved in diversified businesses ranging from sugar, real estate, shipping, palm oil, finance to utilities and hotels. Continue reading >>>