Meet the Millers – Part One

An Entrepreneurial Legacy of Five

George Miller became a financially successful entrepreneur late in life. After working for a large manufacturer of household products for most of his career, George was hired by a fast-growing consumer electronics company to be the VP of product development.

A private equity investor bought the company from the founders and promoted George to president. As an incentive, he was given an interest in the company for his sweat equity in running it. This proved to be a lucrative opportunity.

George quickly improved the company’s financial performance. As a result of his efforts, the business was sold to another private equity group a few years later for a substantial profit. George had hit the jackpot. He used some of his proceeds to reinvest in the company alongside the new ownership group. He was asked to continue doing what he had done before, and lo and behold, the company was sold once again. His managerial genius had translated into another cash windfall.

George came to Coppertree because he was looking for help managing his family’s affairs. We agreed to develop a legacy strategy that reflected what he wanted for himself and his family. We would also work with his other advisors to coordinate the myriad of transactions and activities necessary to meet his family’s needs.

The first step was to get to know the Miller family. We wanted to hear their story and, specifically, about their Legacy of Five.

At our first meeting with George and his wife Lindsay, we asked them to tell us the story of their families. We learned that George was 58 and Lindsay was 53. Their son Peter was 24 and their daughter Michelle was 22.

We learned about their experiences with their grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles. We also learned what their parents and grandparents told them about their earlier ancestors. Their ancestors each contributed in some way to the family legacy and helped form who George and Lindsay had become.

Lindsay’s grandfather was an important influence on her Legacy of Five. He gave up his dream when he dropped out of medical school to take over their struggling family farm after his father had passed away. He told Lindsay that nothing was more important than family and that we needed to do everything we could to help each other out.

This Legacy of Five experience lived on in George and Lindsay as they wanted to help their son and daughter pursue their dreams. Their ancestral generations had taught them that family resources were to be used for the good of the family during their lifetime rather than after they had passed on.