This Family Business Has Thrived Since 1385!

Got access to the online Wall Street Journal? Don't miss today's story on the ultimate family business:

"In 1385, Giovanni di Pietro Antinori branched out from his family's lucrative silk and wool business to join the Florentine wine-makers guild. Today, 26 generations on, the Marquis Piero Antinori heads a company that makes some of the most highly regarded wine in Italy, and has vineyards in Hungary, Chile and California's Napa Valley. In between, the Antinori family survived outbreaks of Bubonic plague, the invasion of Napoleon, two world wars, the arrival of globalization and the birth and death of the wine cooler. For more than six centuries, the Antinori family has managed one of the most delicate feats in business: passing on a company from one generation to the next."

Now overseen by the Marquis Piro Antonori, the venerable wine business might be winding down for lack of younger male Antonoris. Happily, the future looks bright. The Marquis' three daughters will keep the wine flowing.

How does a family business survive more than six centuries? Short answer: Avoid the fixation on short-term profit so prevalent among publicly-held businesses.