They like to stay in the shadows. Who are the families that wield the most power in the world?

Very few of us know the Lees, the al-Nahyans, the Quandts, the Safras or the Wertheimers. We all know, however, their companies Samsung, Manchester City, BMW, Chiquita, and Chanel. Many of the world’s most influential companies are still family businesses, and many of these families go back many generations, some even to the 18th Century. Many of them operate around the world, and some are worth tens of billions of dollars. Still, we know astonishingly little about these families.

The stories of the families in this book contain larger-than-life characters, unbelievable plots, and numerous conflicts, tragedies, and successes. This non-fiction book by the experienced business journalist Hannu Sokala offers a comprehensive and surprising perspective on the world’s most important – and dangerous families.