- With a net worth of $10.1 billion the Tisch dynasty counts a hotel group, a packaging company, insurance business and an NFL team among their interests. Ben Tisch recently became the third generation of his family to run Loews Corporation, the conglomerate that controls the majority of these assets.
Taking on the CEO role at any business worth $18.5 billion is a daunting task—but following in the footsteps of your father and grandfather may add some pressure.
These are the conditions under which the new boss at Loews Corporation—a hotel, energy and packaging conglomerate—has inherited the corner office.
In its final quarterly earnings update of the year, Benjamin Tisch welcomed investors for the first time under his new title.
Ben takes over the helm from his father, James.
James inherited the mantle from his grandfather, Larry, who purchased the Loews company—then a theatre business—in 1959 with his brother, Bob. The duo then combined this company with their established hotel brand based in New Jersey.
Despite welcoming investors, shareholders and analysts for the first time as head of the C-suite, Ben is no stranger to the Loews landscape.
Ben formerly served as senior vice president of corporate development and strategy, having joined the company in 2011 as part of the Fortune 500 company’s investment department.
Before joining the family firm, Ben was a managing director at Fortress Investment Group which holds $49 billion in managed assets, per its site, having begun his career with a two-year investment banking program at Lehman Brothers.
Ben also isn’t the only Tisch in residence at the New York City-based conglomerate, which owns subsidiaries including CNA Financial, Boardwalk Pipelines, Loews Hotels and Altium Packaging.
Ben’s cousin, Alex Tisch, leads the hotel division, while his father, James, will move to become chairman of the board.
In turn, James’s brother, Andrew, and his cousin Jonathan have become director emeritus of the firm, having previously served as joint co-chairmen.
James and Andrew are the two largest individual shareholders of Loews with a 13.4% stake between them, per MarketScreener.
Having been announced as CEO successor in July, Ben said in earnings remarks last week: “While I may express myself differently than my father Jim, my views will sound very familiar because we see many things in the same way.
“Like my father and his father before him, I believe that the CEO of Loews Corporation has one job, and one job only: to grow intrinsic value per share.”
He explained: “My grandfather Larry Tisch was a cashflow-based investor, my father Jim is a cashflow-based investor, and—you may have figured this out by now—I too am a cashflow-based investor.
“The beauty of the conglomerate structure is its ability to produce cash, which Loews can then allocate, either to growth projects or other spending that we believe will give us the best returns, industry and company agnostic.”
The Tisch name is also notable to the wider consumer landscape.
The Tisch dynasty, with a net worth of $10.1 billion, is ranked number 43 onForbes’s 2024 ranking of America’s wealthiest families.
The family also garners attention for its 50% stake in the New York Giants, with Steve Tisch—who represents the stake his father, Bob, purchased in 1991—acting as chairman of the board for the NFL team.
Steve’s sister, Laurie, and his brother, Jonathan, are also on the board.
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The six-word rule
Between his father, grandfather, uncles, and relatives who serve in high-profile roles across Corporate America, Ben has clearly picked up some tips.
The “personal tutoring” Ben received can be distilled into “six simple words,” he added on the call last week: “Grow the numerator, shrink the denominator.”
He explained: “The numerator is the intrinsic value of the enterprise, or more colloquially the sum of our parts. Therefore, we focus on actions we can take, mainly from a capital allocation perspective, to increase the intrinsic value of our underlying businesses.
“We then focus on ensuring that any subsidiary-level investments that are made are wisely thought through and represent the highest and best use of capital.
“It’s been my experience that if we repeat that methodology enough, creating sustainable moats and business processes along the way, we should have consistently high-performing assets.”
Loews Corporation shares are currently $83, up 12% over the past year and up 55% over the past five.
