Cargill family

This article is about the Cargill-MacMillan U.S. business family. For the aristocratic family, see Cargill baronets. For the Scottish sept, see Clan Drummond. For other, see Cargill (surname) and Cargill (disambiguation).
Cargill
Current regionMinnesota, U.S.
Estate(s)Still Pond Mansion, Hennepin County, Minnesota

The Cargill family, also known as the Cargill-MacMillan family, refers to the multi-generational descendants of the American business executive William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) and his son-in-law John H. MacMillan Sr. The Cargill-MacMillan family is the fourth-wealthiest family in America.[1] Descendants of Cargill and MacMillan have owned common equity in the "agribusiness giant" Cargill Inc, one of the largest privately owned corporations in the United States,[2][3] for over 140 years. William Cargill founded the Cargill company as an Iowa grain storage business in 1865, during the post–Civil War period, and was its CEO for almost 40 years.[4] Following the death of William Cargill in 1909, his son-in-law John MacMillan steered the company out of a debt crisis and into stability. The two branches of the family—the MacMillans and the Cargills—continue to be represented on the board of directors of Cargill Incorporated. The most recent family members appointed to the board are fifth generation.

By 2019, twenty-three Cargill-MacMillan family members owned 88% of the family company,[1] which reported $113.5 billion in revenue in 2019.[5][6] The "family reportedly keeps 80% of Cargill Inc.'s net income inside the company for reinvestment annually."[1] Forbes listed the family's estimated net worth as $38.8 billion and the source of their wealth as Cargill Inc.[1] Each year, the Cargill-MacMillan family takes about eighteen percent of the "net profits as dividends".[7]

The exact wealth of the family is unknown, as the Cargill company is a privately owned business entity with no obligation to disclose exact ownership. With fourteen billionaires in the family in 2019,[1][8] the Cargill family has more individual billionaires among its members than any other family anywhere in the world,[9] making them the family with the most wealthy members in history.[10]

While the "low-profile family" owns Cargill, and there are six family members on the 17-member board, family members have not been part of running the company since 1995, when Whitney MacMillan, who had served as Cargill's chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) since 1976, stepped down as chief executive.[11][12]

The family was also the majority owner of The Mosaic Company,[11] the largest producer of potash and phosphate fertilizer in the United States.[13] In 2011, they sold their sixty-four-percent stake in Mosaic for $24.3 billion.[14]

In 2012, the unknown heiress Margaret Anne Cargill, posthumously earned the #1 spot in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of America's 50 most generous donors.[14] Margaret Anne Cargill, who died in 2006, had bequeathed all her shares in the Cargill conglomerate to two non-profits,[14] but the funds could not be liquidated from the private company. When Cargill sold Mosaic, the charities received shares of the public Mosaic stock. This represents about $6 billion, which would make these two charities "two of the wealthiest grant makers in the United States."[14]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference businessinsider_Hoffower_20190731 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "The Richest People You've Never Heard Of". Forbes. June 1, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forbes_20091028 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference economictimes_Mitra_20140328 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forbes_Murphy_20191217 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cargill_AR_2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference forbes_MarianneLiebmann_20200504 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference businessinsider_Baer_20150302 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "14 Cargill heirs on Forbes' list of billionaires, more than any family in world". Duluth News Tribune.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forbes_20160629 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Forbes_2009_James-R-Cargill-II was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference forbes_WhitneyMacMillan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Bloomberg, Mosaic Says Fertilizer Prices to Remain 'Challenging' Into 2014, 5 November 2013". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c d O'Connor, Clare (June 6, 2012). "This Year's Most Generous Billionaire Philanthropist Has Been Dead Since 2006". Forbes. Retrieved May 5, 2020.