When it comes to charity, family businesses are consistently more generous than non-family ones, but sometimes that means family members don't bother giving out of their own pockets.
"[F]amily businesses tend to be more private about it. They’re not particularly given to telling the world about their generosity, unlike listed companies trumpeting achievements to boost their reputation and share price. This can lead to complications. One example is Wal-Mart. Heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, worth an estimated $140 billion, were recently busted for not donating to a charity run by their company. While the Wal-Mart Family Foundation has generously supported social and environmental issues, everything from schools to protecting rivers, the family behind it have been less than charitable." -- Leon Gettler, the Business Spectator (Australia)
