Birthright: Murder, Greed, and Power in the U-Haul Family Dynasty - Hardcover

Watkins, Ronald J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688112552 ISBN 13: 9780688112554

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1993

Synopsis

An account of the U-Haul dynasty describes how, after creating the billion-dollar business, L. S. Schoen was cut out of the corporation by his own family, in a battle that ended in murder. 35,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

An arresting, albeit repellent, account of the bitter power struggle at U-Haul, the trailer/truck-rental operation that's one of the largest privately held corporations in the US. Drawing on access to company founder Leonard Samuel Schoen (who will share in the book's proceeds), as well as to some of the 12 children he sired, legal documents generated by at least 16 lawsuits, and allied sources, Watkins (Evil Intentions, 1992; High Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1990) offers a detailed if overlong version of the family feud that, not surprisingly, gives the benefit of important doubts to his uncredited collaborator. Schoen, we learn, launched U-Haul following his discharge from the WW II Navy, and, within a comparatively few years, had built his shoestring venture into a lucrative nationwide enterprise based in Phoenix. Meanwhile, the once-widowed, thrice-divorced entrepreneur (who turns 77 this year) was fathering seven sons and five daughters. Hoping that his offspring would one day run the business, Schoen ceded each of them, at birth, stock in the family firm. Over the years, the Lear-like patriarch's personal stake dwindled to less than 3%--and, in 1988, a couple of his less appealing heirs mustered sufficient support among their fretful siblings to oust him completely. In 1990, the internecine strife, previously confined to boardroom and court clashes, took a tragic turn when the wife of a loyalist son was found shot to death in her Colorado home. Although the vicious murder has never been solved, Watkins seems to have little doubt the crime was akin to that of Cain against Abel. Wherever the guilt lies, two generations of Schoens continue to battle for control of U-Haul, and their conflicts may not be resolved until well into the next century. A sorry, shocking tale whose essentially unsympathetic characters soon inspire impatience and abhorrence rather than pity or understanding. (Photos--16 pp.--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

Watkins ( High Crimes and Misdemeanors , LJ 4/1/90; Evil Intentions , LJ 2/1/92) here chronicles the lives of the L.S. Shoen family and the growth of the U-Haul empire. Shoen founded U-Haul with a single trailer in 1945 and directed the company's growth until he was ousted from leadership by a rival faction, led by two of his sons, in the mid-1980s. The battle for control of the company is still being fought, and the unsolved murder of Eva Shoen (wife of one of Schoen's sons) has added to the intrigue of this bitter family feud. Watkins used interviews, family letters, and legal documents in preparing this book, and some of these materials are included. Although Watkins addresses the restrictions that prevented him from revealing certain sources, some readers will undoubtedly wish that better documentation had been provided. Recommended for libraries with true crime collections; less appropriate for business collections.
- Mark McCullough, Heterick Lib. , Ohio Northern Univ. , Ada
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0688112552
• ISBN 13: 9780688112554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 425