Sidney Frank made $2.3 billion when he sold Grey Goose vodka, and in his later years he bought Travel Savvy and Business Traveler magazine for $4 million.
When he died in 2006, his executives told staffers they would keep it going. But, as it happened, the plug was pulled months later.
“It is practical vs. the emotional,” said Jill Brooke, who served as the editor-in-chief of the travel magazine and has authored the self-help book “The Need to Say No.”
“When the entrepreneur dies, the family wants to honor the memory of their loved one and keep his beloved media property alive in his memory,” Brooke further explained the situation. “But as time moves on, they recognize the cost of running a media enterprise and often make a different decision.”
One of the few instances of successfully carrying on after the death of a benefactor was when Bruce Wasserstein’s family trust continued to keep New York magazine going through good times and bad times.
Craig Pavia, who was the group publisher of Travel Savvy under Frank, was able to buy the assets from the Frank family for a song and said it continues to this day as a digital-only publication.
Business Traveler was shuttered.
“I purchased Travel Savvy in Feb. 2006 from the family as part of my severance package,” said Pavia. “We never printed another copy of the magazine, but we are still alive as a digital publication.
“The family wanted it to live on but they did not know what to do with it,” he said. Today, it has a 10-person staff, compared to its high flying hey day under Sidney Frank, when it had nearly three times the staff.
In his final years, Frank had used his money to seed over 40 limited liability corporations, including the fledgling Frank Media. “I think the family closed down just about everyone of them,” Pavia said.
The former group publisher said the Frank family gave him a choice — go to press with one last print edition, or use the $100,000 for severance. Pavia used it for staff severance, and saved as many jobs as possible for his digital start up.