Only 12% of family businesses stay in the family by the third generation. A Goldman Sachs chairman says optimism is the reason

According to Goldman Sachs, only about 12% of family-owned businesses reach a third generation still under family control. François-Xavier de Mallmann, chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking division, explained that the biggest threat to these companies is not usually legal documents but often optimism. The complexity of maintaining control increases over time as business growth causes diverging interests between the family and the company.