"You trust your blood, and that's it," is one Mexican's summary of the advantages of family-owned businesses. But then his blood has served him well. Grego-rio Chedraui happens to be a scion of one of the country's most successful business families. Originally migrants from Lebanon at the turn of the last century, the Che-drauis possess a portfolio of interests ranging from retailing to road haulage. Mr Chedraui's wealth and success make him exceptional in one way, but in another, very Mexican way, quite ordinary. It is estimated that up to 95% of Mexican businesses are still wholly family-owned and run. Indeed, 43% of the value of the Mexican stockmarket is in firms controlled by just one family, that of Carlos Slim (see next story). So high an incidence of family-owned businesses is also typically Latin American. In Europe, say, only around 80% of firms are family owned.
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