The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram - Hardcover

Faith, Nicholas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031233219X ISBN 13: 9780312332198

Publisher: St Martin's Press, 2006

Synopsis

"The Bronfmans" portrays the extraordinary saga of the Bronfman family, and above all, their patriarch Sam, the greatest figure in the history of liquor, the man who made drinking whiskey respectable and who built the first global empire of alcohol. From Sam's death, the book then recounts with lavish detail the soap operaish struggle of his brothers and heirs for control. The mantle is finally passed to his son Edgar, who masterminds a major coup when he translates a small investment in oil into a twenty-five percent stake in the mighty DuPont company. But in the 1990s, Edgar allowed his son Edgar Jr. to play media tycoon. The stake in DuPont was sold, and the money reinvested in Universal - which was practically given away in a merger with French media giant Vivendi. When the bubble burst, the family lost Seagram's and untold fortune. With revealing interviews from family members and confidants, "The Bronfmans" is an amazing story of bootlegging billionaires, and business folly.

About this title

About the Author

Nicholas Faith is a distinguished veteran journalist, a former senior editor at The Economist and the London Sunday Times. He also founded and was chairman of the International Spirits Challenge, now the most prestigious event of its kind in the world. He has written twenty-three books, including The Winemakers of Bordeaux and Safety in Numbers: The Mysterious World of Swiss Banking.

From the Inside Flap

The story of the Bronfman family is a fascinating and improbable saga. It is dominated by Mr. Sam, the single greatest figure in the history of the liquor business, the man who made drinking whiskey respectable in the United States and who in the 1950s and 1960s built Seagram into the first worldwide empire in wine and spirits.
After Sam s death in 1971, his oldest son, Edgar, maintained the business, though he was distracted by his matrimonial problems. Nevertheless, in the 1980s he masterminded a major coup when he translated a small investment in oil made by his father into a 25 percent stake in the mighty DuPont company.
But in the 1990s, Edgar allowed his second son, Edgar Jr., to indulge his ambition to become a media tycoon. The stake in DuPont was sold, and the money reinvested in Universal, the film and theme-park empire. Edgar Jr. then paid more than $10 billion to buy Polygram Records and thus fulfill his fancy to be king of the world s music business. But at the same time, he remained in charge of the liquor business, which started to stagnate indeed, to fall apart. Then came the final disaster when the increasingly divided family sold out to Jean-Marie Messier, overreaching empire builder of Vivendi, the French conglomerate.
But the story of this amazing family over the past century is about more than booze and business. The Bronfmans is a spectacular account that details the larger-than-life personalities and bitter rivalries that have made the family so famous and, sometimes, so infamous.

The Bronfmans is a wonderful addition to the library of family biographies, and in particular to the small shelf on the Canadian-grown Seagram whiskey empire. Splendidly written and researched particularly on the alcoholic beverage side, of which Nicholas Faith is a distinguished expert this book is a rollicking good story, a perceptive analysis of the Bronfmans stunning business success, a tribute to their hard work and acumen and a cautionary tale about what can happen, even to the greatest.
Michael R. Marrus, author of Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Mr. Sam

The Bronfmans is an intriguing odyssey of a fabled and star-crossed celebrity family, filled with engrossing tales of the secrets of the international booze business, backroom billion-dollar shenanigans, dilettante playboys and rakes, rediscovered Jewish heritage, and an unusual champion of human rights.
Selwyn Raab, bestselling author of Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America s Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Praise for Nicholas Faith s Other Books

The Winemakers of Bordeaux

Anyone wanting an introduction to this inexhaustible subject will be delighted by Mr. Faith, who knows how to tell a story with vivacity.
Theodore Zeldin, author of An Intimate History of Humanity

An absorbing book.
Frank Prial, The New York Times

Safety in Numbers

An interesting dossier on assorted bad judgment, chicanery, and loose practices.
John Kenneth Galbraith

Investigative journalism of the highest order.
Barron s

Useful and readable tour through the dark side of Swiss banking.
BusinessWeek

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031233219X
• ISBN 13: 9780312332198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352