CHANTECAILLE FAMILY: Two generations of Chantecailles work together to perpetuate matriarch Sylvie’s luxury beauty company. In addition to making the Chantecaille brand a standout in the cluttered cosmetics industry, family members are active in philanthropy (their own and external projects), and social fixtures in the city and out East. FANJUL FAMILY: They’re the world’s most successful sugar barons and also have lucrative stakes in real estate, finance and tourism (they own Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic). They are influencers in philanthropy (particularly in the rural Palm Beach County area) and political activists, influential in both parties. FARKAS FAMILY: The descendants of George and Ruth Farkas, who in 1928 founded New York’s legendary Alexander’s department store as well as a real-estate empire, include four sons, fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grand-children. Andrew L. Farkas, the billionaire real-estate investor, Montauk Yacht Club owner and son of Robin Farkas, is married to playwright and founder of Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Sandi Farkas. Georgette Farkas, daughter of the late Alexander Farkas, is a well-known gourmand who has worked with Daniel Boulud and Alain Ducasse. She opened her own restaurant, Rotisserie Georgette, in 2013. GREGORY FAMILY: Peter S. Gregory, a native New Yorker, is the senior vice president of the Hampton Group at Morgan Stanley. His wife is Jamee T. Gregory, a noted philanthropist, Hamptonite and the author of two books: New York Parties and New York Apartments. Brother André Gregory is an acclaimed director, most famously of My Dinner with André. A third brother, Alexis Gregory, is also immersed in the arts as the chairman of Vendome Press.
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“Inheritance can be a burden, but as our power families prove, it can also be an advantage and a great gift.”
FAMILIES
GUBELMANN FAMILY: They’re the descendants of William Gubelmann, the American inventor who held more than 5,000 patents, including one for the cash register. His grandson, William S. Gubelmann, is a former racecar driver, married to Susan McCammon Gubelmann, a designer. Their daughter is Marjorie Gubelmann, a famed socialite, philanthropist and owner and CEO of Vie Luxe International as well as a professional DJ (known by friends as “DJ Mad Marj”). JOHNSON FAMILY: Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV and his sister Elizabeth “Libet” Johnson are among the descendants of the Johnson & Johnson dynasty. Woody is an American businessman and philanthropist, who purchased the New York Jets in 2000 for $635 million. Libet is an avid collector of art and city real estate. She owns a West Village town house, which once belonged to Meryl Streep, and the Upper East Side Vanderbilt Mansion. ZILKHA FAMILY: Like many Jewish families of Middle Eastern origin, the Zilkhas have persevered through discrimination and loss. Displaced from Baghdad, Syria and Egypt in the 20th century, the family’s patriarch set his sons up in different cities to guarantee the family would continue to prosper. One of the sons was Ezra, who learned business in Hong Kong before arriving in New York. He and wife Cecile have been longtime influencers on the charity circuit—particularly the Metropolitan Opera and the Hospital for Special Surgery. Bettina Zilkha, one of their three children, is a fashion and society writer, oft-spotted on the city’s social scene.
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