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Educating family business owners – five schools they attend

Hotchkiss School in the US where three generations of the Ford family were educated
Hotchkiss School in the US where three generations of the Ford family were educated

Where does the next generation get a secondary education? As you would expect few of them go to the local state-sector school, but there appears to be some schools around the world that are more popular with the next generation of family business leaders than others. Here are five of them.

Le Rosey, Switzerland

Without doubt, Le Rosey in Switzerland must be linked to more family dynasties then any other school in the world. The elite boarding school, which swaps campuses between its Lake Geneva and Gstaad locations depending on the season of the year has educated members of the Rothschild, Rockefeller, Taittinger, Molson, Kadoorie, and Khashoggi families. With annual tuition fees of more than $100,000 a year it attracts the world’s richest. Le Rosey itself is a family business, currently owned and managed by the fourth generation of the Gudin family.   

The Hotchkiss School, US

Few schools are more defined by one business dynasty than that of the Hotchkiss School. The Connecticut-based secondary school has educated three generations of one of America’s best known family business dynasties, the Ford family. Henry Ford’s only son Edsel went there, so did his two sons Henry Ford II and William Clay Ford, Sr. The present executive chairman of the Ford Motor company, William Clay Ford, Jr. also attended Hotchkiss. It has also educated members of the Mars, Inc. family.

Doon School, India

India’s most famous school and often referred to as the Eton of India. Based in the northern Indian city of  Dehradun, Doon has educated members of Indian family dynasties since it was founded in 1935, including: the  Murugappa family of the eponymous conglomerate: the Munjal family, owners of Hero MotoCorp; the Lal family, owners of Eicher Motors; and the Nanda family, who run the Indian engineering company the Escorts Group.

Harrow School, England

The independent public school in north-west London has educated a fair few members of the British elite, included members of family business dynasties. Notable names have included members of the Rothschild family, Nicky Oppenheimer, the grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the founder of the mining company Anglo American, and Nirvana Kumar Chaudhary, the third generation of the family that control the Nepal-based Chaudhary Group.

Lycée Louis-le-Grand, France

The Paris public secondary school, one of France’s most prestigious schools, has educated members of the French elite since it was founded in 1550. These have included family members of businesses dynasties from Michelin, Citroën and Dassault.

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