Succession’s Lessons for the UK’s Dual Class Shares Debate: Beyond the Founder as the Benign Genius

Abstract

UK law is currently debating whether companies whose founders have enhanced voting rights, known as a ‘dual class share’ structure, should be allowed to be listed on the premium list of the London Stock Exchange. This article posits that those arguing for dual class shares argue, ultimately, that founders may be benign geniuses who should be freed from market forces. It argues that the television show Succession illustrates that it is not inevitable that a founder be so: the Roy family’s misdeeds echo traditional corporate law warnings about the dangers of managerial excess. Law needs to regulate the Roys as well as any benign genius.