On another thread someone mentioned UP is still UP through all it’s mergers. It got me thinking about that. it’s not the first time, just the first time online with my aluminum hat on[;)]. Are the descendents of Harriman, Hill, Venderbuilt, Gould, Morgan and others still on the boards of these railroads? Do they have any say or control, or even indirect influence over their namesake’s lifetime dreams? Many of the mergers I’ve seen since Dereg ,IMHO, seem to resemble things that were tried or openly talked about during Railbaron days (Hill Lines, for example), or are what were complete competiors finnaly whipping one of the other out through merger (UP getting WP/D&RGW). or are board members feel their fullfiling some “Manifest Destiny” of the Barons, which I doubt, seeing most are only concerned with making current stockholders happy with little or no interest in the past. Are the descendents of the Barons still even invested in the railroad? Any thoughts anyone?
I’ll take my aluminum helmet off, now.[alien][(-D][(-D]
P.S. This it what happens when you loose the Dish at three in the morning after a few beers
When a person or other entity owns 10% of the stock of a public company, there is a public disclosure that has to be made. I know of no such filing that has been made with respect to one of the large railroads, although there are investment companies that have made such filings (Berkshire’s 11.4% stake in BNSF, for example).
I believe it is highly doubtful that there is any case in which members of a founding family own a significant portiion of a Class I railroad. There are other industries in which this still is the case – the Bancroft family’s collective 30-odd percent of the Wall Street Journal that was just sold is an example.
Other relationships may still persist. For example, one of Union Pacific’s directors is Mitch McConnell, who is a partner at the investment banking form of Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co.
One of the ironic aspects of capitalism as we practice it, is how quickly the decendents of the founder of a large enterprise move away from business into other activities such as charity or government. The Harrimans were one example of this; the Kennedys are another.
i know of none…an example of how far “they” have gotten away…Gloria Vanderbilt of fashion and fragrance fame is the great-great-grand daughter of the Commodore himself…Hill didnt have many kids…Harriman Gould and Morgan got into banking…and i would think that even pre dergulation mergers woulda gotten most “families” off the boards…
Ooh, just wondering! but, Dang! Where did they all go,right? And so is it just my imaginationn, or are the New Management still following old “Manifest Destiny”? or did they all cut and run and it’s all just …hard to imagine, for my part! Someones pulling the string’s, right? The Ford Family just finally pulled out of Ford, With 17% stake left, just enough to make disicions without the fallout? right? Any big meetings in the Hamptoms going on with the dececendets, I know the Vanderbiults still do this, there still in the game. What about the Hills and the Goulds and the Harriman’s. Seem’s “Manifest Destiny” is fullfilling it’s dream! You don’t need controlling stock to buy the managers! or the CEO’s for that matter! Just ALOT of youre grand daddies money, right?