Tag: Yahoo Finance

Family Office for Huntsman Dynasty Bets on National Security

(Bloomberg) -- When billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. died last year at the age of 80, he left behind a wife, eight children, 56 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.He also left a family office to help take care of them, as well as continue the clan’s charitable giving.Peter Huntsman, 56, focuses on running the publicly traded global chemical giant that bears the family name, while younger brother Paul works to diversify the family money beyond its reliance on Huntsman Corp. That includes making direct investments in a business that produces chemicals for U.S. Department of Defense and NASA rockets, as well as a Guam telecommunications firm that provides critical links to the militarily sensitive island.“A lot of families, particularly legacy families, may not have the experience in sourcing and executing transactions, and we still kind of have that in our DNA,” said Paul, 50, who started Huntsman Family Investments five years ago with...

Starbucks and Chick-fil-A Drop Out of the Culture Wars

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Their origins couldn't be more different -- one in the liberal Pacific Northwest, the other in the Bible Belt. And yet despite existing in a consumer brand landscape increasingly caught in the same polarizing trends seen in our politics, Starbucks Corp. and Chick-fil-A Inc. are converging on the exact same customer base, shaping what middle America means in the 21st century.Succeeding as a consumer brand in the 2010s is impressive in its own right; doing it while pivoting from a distinct cultural base to something more universal is even more challenging when considering larger trends in American business. We've seen media networks sort into outlets that cater to either liberals or conservatives. Pro sports leagues have dealt with the same issues, with the National Basketball Association and Nascar moving in opposite directions. Even a clothing staple as innocuous as blue jeans has seen San Francisco-based Levi's cater more to...