Billionaires Are Fighting Heirs for Control Beyond the Grave (1)

Pierre Castel began planning for succession more than three decades ago. The French billionaire, founder of one of the world’s largest drinks empires, consolidated ownership of his business in a company in Gibraltar, then created a foundation in Liechtenstein, before finally setting up a trust in Singapore.

Castel built his eponymous conglomerate from a tiny wine and fresh produce operation around Bordeaux in the 1940s into an international company worth some $10 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It spans breweries, soft drinks producers and plantations across Africa and had €6.5 billion ($7.59 billion) in annual sales. The succession process ...