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FB Roundup: In-N-Out, Ogden Newspapers, and Chilean family offices

By Alexandra Newlove

Flipping burgers pays at In-N-Out

Family-owned burger chain In-N-Out has revealed it pays its restaurant managers an average salary of $160,000 a year, more than three times the industry average.

The $575 million-a-year chain, controlled by the third generation of the Snyder family, also offers a starting wage of at least $13 per hour compared to California’s minimum wage of $11, and staff get 401(k) plans, generous holidays, and health, dental, and vision plans.

Denny Warnick, vice president of operations, told The California Sun that the company’s approach to treating staff well was modelled off the philosophy of Harry and Esther Snyder, who founded the first restaurant in 1948. Their granddaughter Lynsi Snyder, 35, owns the company today and is one of the world’s youngest female billionaires.

Nutting family buys regional newspaper

Sports team and publishing magnate Bob Nutting has added a bankrupt West Virginian newspaper to his portfolio, paying $10.9 million for the failing Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Ogden Newspapers, owned by Nutting and his family, has daily newspapers in states including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, mostly serving smaller communities and markets. Its most recent acquisition has a daily circulation of just over 40,000.

The company was founded by HC Ogden in 1890, an ancestor of the Nuttings. It has been known to make drastic staff cuts after acquiring media outlets, and a notice by Charleston Newspapers, which currently owns the Gazette-Mail, warned up to 50 workers could be made redundant following the deal. Charleston Newspapers has more than $31 million in liabilities.

The Nuttings are best known as the owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a Major League baseball team. The family are worth an estimated $1.1 billion.

Chilean family offices’ plans for 2018

A survey of family offices in Chile has revealed their positive outlook for 2018, particularly following the election of pro-business billionaire president Sebastián Piñera, pictured.

More than 70% of the family offices surveyed by Ameris Capital said they had good expectations for global markets for 2018, with 40% saying they expected them to perform similarly to 2017.

Most Chilean family offices said they wanted to pull away from fixed income, while 48% wanted to allocate more to private equity, and 39% wanted to invest more in emerging market equities.

Ameris completed the survey between November 2017 and January 2018, receiving 80 responses.

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