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Beer Money: A Story of Privilege and Loss
Beer Money A Story of Privilege and Loss Author:Frances Stroh Frances Stroh’s earliest memories are ones of great privilege: shopping trips to London and New York, lunches served by black-tied waiters at the Regency Hotel, and a house filled with precious antiques, which she was forbidden to touch. Established in Detroit in 1850, by 1992 the Stroh Brewing Company had become the largest private beer f... more »ortune in America and a brand emblematic of the American dream itself; while Stroh was coming of age the Stroh family fortune was estimated to be worth $700 million.
But behind the beautiful façade lay a crumbling foundation. Detroit’s economy collapsed with the fall of the American financial markets and likewise the Stroh family found their wealth and legacy disappearing. As their fortune dissolved in little over a decade, the family was torn apart internally by divorce; drug busts, as one sibling after another was thrown out of boarding school; disagreements over the management of the business; and disputes over the remaining money they possessed. Even as they turned against one another, looking for a scapegoat on whom to blame the unraveling of their family, they could not anticipate that even far greater tragedy lay in store.« less