Notable & Quotable: Hoffmann wins family business award; Soros takes control of family office…

Head of pharmaceutical dynasty wins family business award

Andre Hoffmann, vice chairman of Roche, the pharmaceutical group, has been honoured by the EY Global Family Business Center of Excellence as this year’s Special Recognition recipient. The honour distinguishes Hoffmann for his unique resilience, family business values and long-term vision that have come to define one of the world’s most successful family businesses. Hoffmann’s great-grandfather founded Roche in 1896 and today it has annual revenues of more than CH48 billion, making it one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in the world. Past winners of the award have been Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Ross Perot and his son Ross Perot Jr.

Soros takes control of the family office

You can’t keep a great investor down, especially when you’re George Soros, arguably the world’s most successful hedge fund manager. Despite being 85, Soros is apparently taking a more active role in the management of his investments through his family office, Soros Fund Management. The Bloomberg report said Soros was concerned about the outlook for the world economy and that big market shifts could be at hand. Maybe he knows something the rest of us don’t?

Family offices increasingly are turning to philanthropy, report

Family offices are becoming increasingly involved with philanthropic ventures and impact investing, according to a new report by the UK-based professional services group Moore Stephens and the philanthropy group Phoenix Hayward. The report found that the most popular philanthropic causes chosen by family offices are educational, arts & culture, and youth development. Nearly three quarters of family offices now make their philanthropic donations through a family foundation structure, said the report.