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How the Hennessy Family Kept a Cognac Empire in the Family
Description
Episode 84 of Family Business Stories with Fexingo examines how the Hennessy family held together one of the world's oldest and most valuable cognac dynasties through 250 years of revolutions, world wars, and corporate consolidation. Lucas and Luna trace the family's survival from the 1765 founding by Richard Hennessy, through the deal that created LVMH in 1987, to today's delicate balance between family ownership and luxury group control. Key numbers: the family's roughly 25 percent economic stake in Moët Hennessy (LVMH's wines and spirits arm), the 300 million euro dividend paid annually, and the seven generations of family leadership. The episode explores how the family used a holding company, strict share-transfer rules, and a non-family CEO structure to prevent the infighting that destroyed other family empires like Gucci and Wedgwood.