Distilled: A Memoir of Family, Seagram, Baseball, and Philanthropy - Hardcover

While much has been written about Charles Bronfman’s father, Sam, a titan of industry, there is no public record of Charles’s thoughts on his own life, family, career, and significant accomplishments in sport and philanthropy. Distilled chronicles the key events in the life of an heir to one of Canada’s great fortunes.

Charles Bronfman grew up surrounded by luxury, in a twenty-room mansion with a large staff. Via the family’s control of the distilling giant Seagram, the Bronfmans dominated the liquor business, with brands such as Crown Royal, V.O., and Chivas Regal. By the 1980s, Seagram was also the biggest shareholder of DuPont, and by the 1990s, the family’s wealth was in the billions, culminating in the $35--billion sale of Seagram to France’s Vivendi, which led to financial and family disaster.

In Distilled, Charles reflects on all of it—his relationship with his parents and his brother, Edgar; working in the family business; landing Canada’s first big-league baseball franchise (the Montreal Expos); leading a philanth-ropic life by promoting Canadian identity through Heritage Minutes and supporting Israel through such innovative initiatives as the globally respec-ted Birth-right Israel; and how the Bronfman family splintered over the sale of Seagram.

CHARLES BRONFMAN is the former co-chairman of Seagram. As chairman and majority owner of the Montreal Expos, he brought Major League Baseball to Canada. Until 2016, he chaired the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, which oversaw groundbreaking work in Canada, Israel and the United States. Among his signature philanthropic achievements are Heritage Minutes and Birthright Israel. He divides his time between Montreal, New York and Florida.

HOWARD GREEN is an author and broadcaster. A founding anchor at Business News Network, he spent fifteen years at BNN, where he hosted Headline, the network’s flagship interview program. Green is also the author of the bestseller Banking on America and is an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

HOWARD GREEN is an author and broadcaster. A founding anchor at Business News Network, he spent fifteen years at BNN, where he hosted Headline, the network’s flagship interview program. Green is also the author of the bestseller Banking on America and is an award-winning documentary filmmaker.