Only a teenager when his father died, Bob helped his mother continue to operate the family business. Although he never thought of himself as wealthy, Bob attended a prestigious private school in Chicago, where he met many individuals who later would become influential contacts.

“I never considered myself smart,” he says. “When World War II came along, I took a test and was told I had an IQ over 150 and that I would be assigned to the unit that was responsible for counter-intelligence.”

In his absence, Bob’s mother ran the family business on her own and was quite successful at it. And when Bob returned home from the war, she arranged a date for him with Kathy, the daughter of a friend. They eventually married.

Bob once again took over his family’s business and, in time, established a strong wholesale network throughout the Midwest. His firm became the primary supplier of a popular brand of cookers.

Recognizing the potential of FM radio in the 1960s, Bob invested in radio manufacturing and purchased several FM stations. He also invested in other media, including television and magazines. In the late 1980s, Bob sold many of his interests and retired.

Today, he remains actively involved in the management of his investments and has an office in Florida that he visits most days of the week. The staff has an attorney and some additional professionals.

Most of Bob’s assets are held in trusts established for various purposes. His investments are diverse and include private-placement bonds, venture capital and real estate. He plans to bequeath his apartment buildings to his grandchildren as an ongoing source of financial support.

His primary concern for the future is his health and that of his wife. Indeed, Kathy just recently recovered from a broken hip, which she suffered in a fall by the pool.

Bob also is concerned about his grandchildren. He wants them to see the value of thinking, planning, investing and working and not just live off trust funds. In fact, many of Bob’s decisions about funding various trusts were based on his perceptions of how his grandchildren were adapting to wealth.

A lifetime of experience has taught Bob to believe in the long term. “Some years, a monkey can do better in the market than an investment manager. It’s all a game of luck and thinking,” he says, “and making more good decisions than bad decisions.”

Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)

---