A deadly listeria outbreak at a factory in Boar’s Head has put the spotlight on the ultra-secret billionaire dynasty behind one of America’s top meat brands.
Beyond their luxurious homes and affluent lifestyles, little is known about the family members who run the $3 billion-a-year private company, which has fallen out in recent years.
The outbreak this summer killed 10 people and hospitalized dozens, most from eating liverwurst prepared at a Boar’s Head factory in Virginia.
A criminal investigation followed and at least six wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits were filed against the company.
The plant was closed and 7 million pounds of meats and other products were recalled.
Bob Martin, 74, bought this multimillion-dollar home at the tip of Longboat Key near Sarasota, Florida
Yet none of the two families that own the brand, the Brunckhorsts and Bischoffs, have commented on the scandal.
Tom Johnston, the editor of trade magazine Meatingplace, told the New York Times that this was typical of the guarded families.
Frank Brunckhorst III, 61, retired from the company’s day-to-day operations in 2003
“They’re as secretive as anyone I can think of in the industry,” he said.
The company’s daily operations are led by President Carlos Giraldo.
But legal documents show that key decisions are made by three family members: Robert S. Martin, known as Bob, the 74-year-old grandson of one of Boar’s Head’s founders; his 50-year-old son, Robert A. Martin, known as Bob Jr.; and their cousin, Frank Brunckhorst III, 61.
Those names do not appear on the company’s website. Even senior employees remain in the dark about sales figures.
The owners — including the two Martins and Brunckhorst, along with other cousins who don’t work at Boar’s Head — received $1.5 billion in payouts over nearly 15 years, court documents show.
Bob Martin has been compared to a “Jay Gatsby” of the meat industry — a reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional protagonist — thanks to his dashing looks, charisma, wealth, multiple homes and love of boating, the Times reported.
When the company moved its headquarters to Sarasota, Florida, in 2001, Brunckhorst and Martin moved there and lived in luxurious, multimillion-dollar waterfront properties with swimming pools.
At a chic party celebrating Boar’s Head’s 100th anniversary in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan in 2005, family members wore tuxedos and gowns to mark their shared history and success.
But that soon started to unravel.
Another family member, Eric Bischoff, has sued his cousins and the company several times over the stock awards.
Lawsuits show that family members linked by history and a company are torn by tensions over money and pride.
Martin and Eric Bischoff, both grandsons of early partner Bruno Bischoff, began working at the family business’s processing plant in Brooklyn in the 1970s.
Boar’s Head has grown into a well-known brand with annual sales of approximately $3 billion per year
The Boar’s Head processing plant in Jarratt, Virginia, was closed after a deadly listeria outbreak
The above map shows the states where illnesses linked to the deli listeria outbreak have been reported
The company remains tight-lipped about which family members make major decisions
Eric Bischoff felt that he had fallen short in the number of shares he was allocated.
Tensions between Bischoff and his cousins continued to worsen over the years. Martin said he tried to undermine the employees he or his father hired.
He and Brunckhorst reportedly even offered to pay Bischoff to stay home.
Months after the company’s centennial, Bischoff sued Martin and Brunckhorst for an increased stake in the company.
The case was settled in 2008, with Bischoff receiving a larger stake of approximately 14 percent in the company.
After the lawsuit, Bischoff no longer worked at the company.
Martin, who was managing Boar’s Head at the time, stopped talking to his cousin. The staff knew they were not allowed to say Bischoff’s name in the office.
The feud flared up again when Bob Martin transferred the shares to his son, Bob Jr.
Bischoff sued him again, saying the transfers violated a shareholders’ agreement. The case was dismissed and Bischoff is appealing the decision.
Brunckhorst resigned from his daily duties at the company in 2003.
Last month, Boar’s Head announced the names of four food safety experts who would tackle the issues underlying the listeria outbreak.
The company published extensive biographies of the safety team members on its website, but the names of both Martins and Brunckhorst were nowhere to be found, the Times reported.