Fall of the House of Busch It Took Four Generations to Build Anheuser-Busch, One of the Most Celebrated Companies in America

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Fall of the House of Busch It took four generations to build Anheuser-Busch, one of the most celebrated companies in America. And only one for it to come apart By Susan Berﬁeld Illustration by David Parkins

On Dec. 18, 2010, August Busch IV and his girlfriend, Adrienne Martin, a former Hooters waitress, aspiring art therapist, and divorced The death of Adrienne Martin is the mother of an 8-year-old boy, began what was, latest twist in a saga that has trans"xed for them, a typical night in. They enjoyed St. Louis. The Busches and their beer company had survived Prohibition, labor a steak dinner at Busch’s home. They drank strikes, and price wars, growing to oper- ate 12 breweries around the country, pro- for hours, and ﬁnally went to sleep around 3 in ducing 128 million barrels of beer in 2007 and taking in nearly $17 billion in revenue. the morning, according to the ﬁrst of three The red, white, and blue Budweiser can versions Busch provided to authorities. is practically synonymous with America itself. But at a crucial time, the company He woke sometime after noon and went to the failed to adapt to a changing market, leav- ing it weakened and vulnerable to a for- kitchen to make two protein shakes. When he eign takeover. And it was August Busch IV, the last member of the family to lead the returned to the bedroom with Martin’s drink, brewery, who was there when it all came he tried to wake her. She was unconscious. apart. Martin’s overdose represented not just the darkest moment in Busch’s turbu- Busch lives alone in a 6,300-square-foot mansion set on four lent life. It also signaled the unraveling of one of America’s most wooded acres in the village of Huntleigh, just outside St. Louis. storied families, their business empire, and the city their money Fifteen miles to the east is the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch, had helped build. Lawyers for Busch declined to make him avail- the biggest brewery in America and the maker of Budweiser able for comment. beer, along with 30 other brands. The company had been run While prosecutors did not "le charges against Busch, his legal by Busch’s family for 150 years until it was devoured by the Bel- woes are far from over. Many questions about what transpired at gian-Brazilian conglomerate InBev in 2008 in a $52 billion hos- his home this past December remain unanswered. Police reports tile takeover. Busch, 47, was Chief Executive O!cer at the time re#ect that Busch himself gave con#icting accounts. His father, that Anheuser-Busch was wrenched from his control. He ended August Busch III, had helped him out of other messes, but that his two-year marriage shortly afterward. Pretty soon, Martin, 27, was back when the Busch family had a company to protect. Now, was the only person who saw him regularly. August Busch IV’s troubles are entirely his own. 66 Police reports describe a chaotic scene in Busch’s bedroom that Sunday afternoon. The room, located on the "rst #oor, is Anheuser-Busch has long exerted a hold on the imagina- in a wing of the mansion that household sta$ are not usually al- tion of the people of St. Louis. When someone says The Brew- lowed to enter. Blackout shades cover the windows. Martin could ery, everyone knows they’re talking about Anheuser-Busch. The not be revived. She was lying on top of the sheets on the left side red-brick Brew House on the company’s 100-acre campus at the of the bed, dressed in a blue tank top, gray spandex leggings, a south end of town is a National Historic Landmark. A 600-pound

black sweat jacket, and one black sock on her left foot. A white brass chandelier from the 1904 World’s Fair hangs from the ceil- NG sock was nearby. She wore a silver-and-diamond Breitling watch ing of the stables housing the Clydesdale horses featured in the BI ON: ON:

on her left wrist, which had stopped at 5:35:08. The police noted beer ads. The company philosophy famously was: “Spend money SI three empty prescription drug bottles with Martin’s name on to make money and make friends.” the labels. They also found a straw with a white residue—later Even those who didn’t work at the brewery were proud of HOTO; MAN HOTO;

identi"ed as cocaine—under the mattress and another in Mar- P its success. “The city’s emotional attachment to the company tin’s jacket pocket. has always transcended its economic impact,” says Tom Schla- P Busch has spoken publicly only once since Martin’s death. In #y, an attorney, fourth-generation St. Louisan, and co-founder NLEY/A FI a Jan. 4, 2011, interview with the gossip columnist at the St. Louis of the St. Louis Brewery. “Anheuser-Busch gave St. Louis status . A

Post-Dispatch, he said that the sale of Anheuser-Busch, just 18 in the world.” S months after he had been named CEO, sent him spiraling into a The quarreling, lordly, and occasionally scandalous Busch

debilitating depression. He con"rmed that he was in rehab for family provided St. Louis with its own celebrity dynasty. Adol- JAME CH: S U

that and “other issues” in early 2010. He also professed his love phus Busch, August IV’s great-great-grandfather, joined his fa- B : for Martin. “You know, I’m this notorious bachelor who always ther-in-law Eberhard Anheuser in the business in 1864, shortly D wanted someone on the side, but I didn’t with Adrienne.” He after Anheuser had bought a brewery out of bankruptcy. In 1876 REA SP

added that he was friends with Martin’s ex-husband, Kevin, and they introduced Budweiser. Adolphus, who took over in 1880 IS was close to their son. “I was falling in love with the kid. … I’ve after Anheuser’s death, was the "rst to

never spent much time around kids that age before. They don’t Company Man use pasteurization to keep beer fresh, the TH LAMY; A /

care who you are or what you have. They just accept you the Then-president "rst to use refrigerated railroad cars, and S way you are.” August IV toasting the "rst to bottle beer on a large scale, all MAGE a 2006 Anheuser- I

Busch stopped cooperating with the of which helped make Budweiser Amer- LE

Busch distribution B police soon after. The St. Louis County deal ica’s "rst national beer. He lived in a Vic- prosecuting attorney, Robert McCullough, torian mansion right next to the brewery;

called Adrienne Martin’s death an acci- a cannon blast would announce his return FRAME:: A D dental overdose and in a Feb. 10 press con- from a long trip. To celebrate his 50th wed- REA SP ference said he would not press criminal ding anniversary in 1911, he held a party for S

charges against Busch, adding: “The inves- OU

13,000 people at the St. Louis Coliseum and I V tigation as to where the drugs came from gave each of his nine children one million dol- I RE is at a dead end.” lars to build a home, according to Under the P July 4 — July 10, 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek The Girlfriend Martin helped August In!uence: The Unauthorized Story of the An- IV cope with his police that he and Frederick despair after InBev heuser-Busch Dynasty by Peter Hernon and bought the company had been at Dirtbag’s, a bar Terry Ganey. popular with students, and Almost 70 years later, the fourth-gener- had been drinking. Soon after that, though, ation Busch to run the company, August III, he claimed amnesia and wouldn’t answer took it public, so he could expand its brew- further questions. After an eight-month ing operations beyond St. Louis. He would investigation, the authorities declined to go on to build 11 other breweries and sup- press charges. port one of the biggest advertising budgets Busch left Arizona to attend the Jesu- in the country. By the 1990s, one of every it-run Saint Louis University, where, in two beers sold in the U.S. was made by An- 1985, he nearly rammed into an unmarked heuser-Busch. police car "lled with narcotics detectives As the company grew, the Busch fami- while driving home from a topless bar. The ly’s stake shrank; the Busch men had a ten- police began to chase his speeding Mer- dency to marry often, and not all their wives cedes, thinking he was a drug dealer. Even- and kids held on to the stock they inherit- tually one of the o!cers shot out a tire on ed. But even when the Busches controlled the Mercedes. When they found out who only 4 percent of the company, they were was behind the wheel, they changed the treated as if they owned the place. The Cursed Castle tire. Nonetheless, they arrested Busch on company, and the city, were their king- The 6,300 sq. ft. assault charges. August IV said he thought the police were trying dom, and the Busches put their name on Huntleigh (Mo.) to kidnap him, and a jury acquitted him. mansion where the baseball stadium (they once owned August IV lives alone the St. Louis Cardinals) and the School of August IV’s scrapes with the law did not halt his inevitable Law at Washington University. Grant’s Farm, a 280-acre zoo and ascent to the top of the family business. After earning an MBA beer garden on the ancestral Busch estate, has been open to the at Saint Louis University, he started as an assistant to the brew- public since 1954. master at Anheuser-Busch. In the mid-1990s he was put in charge Succession at Anheuser-Busch was marked by struggle and of its marketing department. During the next several years the rancor. August III told his father, who went by the nickname company produced some of its most memorable commercials, Gussie, to step down as chief executive in the early 1970s, osten- including campaigns featuring the Budweiser bullfrogs and the sibly because family matters were distracting him. Gussie tried phrase “Wassup?” 67 to sell Anheuser-Busch to R.J. Reynolds instead, according to au- Despite his corporate role, Busch maintained a reputation thors Hernon and Ganey, so August III ousted his father in a 1975 as a party boy. He hosted bacchanals at his mansion, which had boardroom coup. He o!cially ran the brewery until 2002, when beer taps in the kitchen and a giant hot tub, according to sever- he turned 65. He and his father eventually reconciled, though bit- al people who have been there. On business trips, he was often terness lingered among the half-brothers and cousins over the accompanied by young women. When asked about this by Busi- way August III had dispatched the patriarch. nessWeek in 2002, he replied that his house was much like those August III also has a complicated relationship with his own of other executives and that he paid the expenses of any guests son. He divorced August IV’s mother when August was 5, started who traveled with him. As Benj Steinman, the publisher of Bev- another family, and spent little time with his eldest son except erage Business Insights, an industry newsletter, puts it: “August at the brewery. In 2002, August IV told BusinessWeek: “Take a was deeply committed to the business but was also out playing walk through my house, and it looks like a father museum. Every a lot.” picture on the wall is of my father, or me and my father—to the In 2002, August III broke with tradition and named a trusted point where my mom comes over and says, ‘Where are all my aide to be a caretaker chief executive of Anheuser-Busch until pictures?’ But he has been extremely tough on me. Maybe you August IV was deemed to be ready for the role. For the next sev- can call it tough love.” Buddy Reisinger, who like August IV is eral years he ran the most vital part of the company, the domestic a great-great-grandson of the founder, Adolphus Busch, says beer operations. And, just as important to his father, he got mar- the Third encouraged sibling warfare. “He would say to August, ried. His bride was a 25-year-old ingénue named Kathryn Thatch- ‘You’re never going to make it. You better watch your back.’ He er who had grown up in a small town in Vermont and moved to tortured that kid. There’s carrot and there’s stick. The Fourth St. Louis after college. August IV was 41. Just before the wedding, got all stick.” A lawyer for August III did not respond to requests he sent a video message to colleagues attending a Beer Institute for comment. meeting in Vail: “Sorry I couldn’t be with you, but I’m getting At the same time, because August IV was the eldest son and married. I’ve got a lot of wedding activities I have to attend to. presumed heir, no e$ort was spared when he got into trouble. As Including a bachelor party—an event I’ve been preparing for all a student at the University of Arizona, he crashed his Corvette, my life.” Later that year, August IV "nally got the job he had been killing a 22-year-old bartender named Mi- preparing for all his life, too. chele Frederick who was in the passenger “It had elements of a Even though the son was now CEO, seat. His father hired the top lawyers in St. August III remained on the board of direc- Louis and Tucson, as well as a team of pri- Greek tragedy: a very tors and continued to land his helicopter on vate investigators and experts, to extricate controlling father and the roof of headquarters and go to his o!ce. him. Police had arrived at August IV’s town- Sometimes called Three Sticks by employ- house hours after the accident and found a son who probably ees, stubborn, brusque, and a bit of a bully, him in bed, dazed and covered in dried didn’t have the skill set August III was generally considered an ex- blood. According to police interviews cited traordinary businessman. Anheuser- % in Under the In!uence, Busch "rst told the to be CEO” Busch’s U.S. market share increased Guns, Clydesdales, and a Kidnapping: One Big Happy Family By Jennifer Daniel Worked forAnheuser-Busch Not involved in the family business Divorced Married Number indicates marriage Favorite drink? Champagne Anna and Lilly Anheuser, sisters, married Busch grooms in a double wedding Mar. 7, 1861. Adolphus was 20 minutes late to the wedding Collected intelligence on Nazi Bernard because he stopped to close a business deal Berghaus, who was married to Lilly von Gontard. Later he married her aunt, Minnie During Prohibition, Busch kept the Shot himself in the chest Would’ve probably taken company alive by while dinner guests waited over the company if not Adolph Hitler paid a manufacturing ice downstairs Elisa “Lilly” Anna for an untimely death from visit to her estate in cream, soft drinks, Adolphus Involved in a diamond (Anheuser) Busch (Anheuser) a perforated appendix Germany to solicit baking supplies, etc. smuggling incident Busch (1844-1928) Busch funds for the Nazi Party (1839-1913)

Loved animals ① ② ① ② ③ ② ① Edmee Hugo Charles E. Nellie Ed Adolphus Sam Edison Wilhelmina Ailing from gout, Alice (Ziesemann) (Busch) Reisinger Greenough (Busch) Magnus Busch Jr. Woods “Minnie” Busch took his own August A. Busch (1856-1914) (1867-98) life with a gunshot (1866-1958) Reisinger Magnus (Busch) to the chest Busch Sr. Loeb Scharrer (1865-1934) Whisked Minnie away and Borchardt Cousin of Edmee’s. Son threatened to kill himself unless of Appolonia Busch she married him Woods Pummie married Lilly’s sister’s grandson (Adolphus’s sister) & Superb Franz Reisinger horsemen ② ① ① ② ③ ④ ③ ② ① Horace Aimee Catherine Adolphus C. Marie Clara Percy Alice “Pummie” Flanigan (Magnus) “Kitty” Milliken Busch III Drummond (Busch) (Busch) Orthwein Edna Busch August (1890-1978) Flanigan Busch (1891-1946) Jones Jones Orthwein (1888-1957) Gronewaldt “Gussie” (1887-1946) (1892-1963) (1895-1957) (1904-95) Anheuser Busch Jr. Marie’s Marie’s Started D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles ad (1899-1989) Also worked in the Nixon Tennis star gardener chau"eur agency. They held the coveted Budweiser Administration account from 1915 to 1995

John Peter M. Adolphus James Robert Lilly Christy Flanigan Flanigan Busch Busch Hermann (Busch) (1923-) Orthwein Orthwein Sr. (1923-) Hermann (1917-) (1924-2008) (1923-95)

Married second cousin In 1930 a would-be robber abducted 13-year-old “Dolph” Climbed from his family’s estate. He Kilimanjaro, Parker was found unharmed Percy J. James B. ﬂies jets St. Louis Drummond “Drum” Carlota Condie Sr. Orthwein II 68 philanthropist Busch Hadley Orthwein “Lotsie” (1939-) (1938-) (1947-) (1952-) (Hermann) Sued (unsuccessfully) for Holton sleeping with one man’s (1949-) wife, ex-wife, and ﬁancée Owned the New Played cowboy with August III in Wyoming Distributors England Patriots Produced the Rose from 1992-93 Bowl Parade

from 23 percent to more than 50 percent during the 27 years 17.9 percent, to $1.8 billion, the "rst drop in a decade. By 2006, August III ran the company. “People used to ask if the Fourth beer sales had fallen to 50.7 percent of the total market for alco- could handle it,” says Reisinger, who worked at the company hol in the U.S., from 55.5 percent in 2000, according to the trade for 12 years. “The Third was not replaceable by any one person. publication Beverage World. Then in 2007, Anheuser-Busch’s two Period. You’d need four or "ve guys to do what that guy did. … main competitors, SABMiller and Molson Coors, merged, making From big ideas to little ones, there was one decider.” the situation for Anheuser-Busch even more precarious. Yet August IV did have one quality his father did not: charis- The pressure mounted on August IV. He had made some

ma. He was good-looking and good-humored, and for many in small deals, such as an $82 million acquisition of Rolling Rock CH S the industry he was a welcome contrast to his dad. Among the beer from InBev and a deal to distribute Monster Ener&y ER ! BU

"rst things August IV did was try to reduce some of the compa- drink. But a liquor he developed called Jekyll and Hyde never S ny’s most extravagant spending. He canceled an order for a new gained traction in the market, and a fruit-#avored malt bever- NHEU $40 million Dassault Falcon 7X jet, which his father was eagerly age called Spykes was discontinued amid criticism that it en- A awaiting, and he closed the executive dining room, where his couraged under-age drinking.

father used to eat breakfast every morning. In a speech accepting Once he became CEO, “he really didn’t have time to do much ATCH

the 2006 Presidential Award from the Webster University George before events overtook him,” says Trevor Stirling, an analyst at DISP T ! STORY OF THE S Herbert Walker School of Business and Technolo&y in St. Louis, Sanford C. Bernstein. Busch explored international partnerships D O P ZE

Busch said: “Mistakes will happen, mistakes are inevitable, but and acquisitions, including a deal with Diageo, which sells John- I IS in failure there is learning and in learning there is experience. nie Walker, Smirno$, and dozens of other liquors. But in almost T LOU T S

That’s how you improve and grow.” every case, the Third opposed the moves, and the board acqui- NAUTHOR D More important, the Fourth seemed to understand that Amer- esced, according to Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of U AN HE HE S ican tastes were changing—people were drinking more wine, Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon by Julie MacIntosh. T ME hard liquor, and craft beer—and that Anheuser-Busch needed to “It had elements of a Greek tragedy: a very controlling father I change, too. For all his father’s obvious successes, the company and a son who probably would have been a good head of mar- was vulnerable. “[August III] resisted an aggressive international keting but didn’t have the skill set to be CEO,” says Stirling. Amid strate&y because he didn’t know how to micromanage the rest growing tension with his father and the company’s worsening ER THE INFLUENCE: INFLUENCE: THE ER

of the world from One Busch Place,” says Bill Finnie, a former prospects, August IV began to disappear for long stretches. D N TY, THE NEW YORK T YORK NEW THE TY, U S Anheuser-Busch executive who teaches at Washington Universi- That spring, rumors of a possible bid for Anheuser-Busch by : ATA DYNA ty’s Olin Business School. In 2005 the company’s net income fell InBev, with which it had a distribution agreement, intensi"ed. D Artist rendering of A favorite Busch Eberhard Anheuser Adopted Lilly’s sister’s family pastime is July 4 — July 10, 2011 orphaned daughter fox hunting Bloomberg Businessweek

AB named a beer after Tony Faust, Edward’s father, Died from hatpin lacerations friend of the family and popular restaurateur. It was Oops! Lilly married a Nazi, possibly intentionally inflicted released in the 1880s and again in the 1990s Eberhard Anheuser Bernard Berghaus President of Mercedes by his girlfriend Benz & Manser Motor Co. (1805-80) Hired in 1940 to be a secretary in the yeast department. Became When charged with infidelity Secret witness in the first woman to said she’s a “philanderer by German Supreme Court instinct” case. Nicknamed “The sit on the company’s Editor of Neue Revue, Man in the Mask” Soap maker who bought a brewery out board of directors whose strong anti-Nazi Trained of bankruptcy. Later, became business policy put him on the chimpanzees partners with his son-in-law, Adolphus Nazis’ “death list” in 1933 dressed in dinner jackets to serve chilled Started his own bottles of Team Deaf brewery President Budweiser of the St. Louis Baron Paul Died at a Anna Louise Edward Clara (Busch) Cardinals young age due (Busch) Faust Faust von Gontard (1876-1959) von Gontard to appendicitis (1875-1936) (1868-1941)

Pro ladies golf Gussie’s ﬁrst wife and a de- Rumored a"airs champion scendant of the explorer William with Al Capone and Clark, she died from pneumonia. Frank Sinatra Head of AB’s Grain Dept. ① ② ③ ④ ② ① Marie Elizabeth Gertrude “Trudy” Margaret Leicester Audrey Gert von Paul C. Von Lily Claire Adalbert Christy Overton (Buholzer) Busch (Snyder) Busch Busch Faust (Faust) Wallace Gontard Gontard (Schieber “Adie” von (1916-88) (1896-1951) (Church) (Dozier) Busch (1927-) Killed in a car accident when she was 8 Berghaus) von Gontard (1900-76) Busch (1895-1958) Gontard (1896-1930) Bit a guy’s Overthrew his ear o" in Took helicopters father a barroom to work brawl ① ② Carlota Susan Virginia Lee Adolphus Beatrice Peter Gertrude William Andrew Adolphus Adalbert von “Lotsie” August A. (Hornibrook) (Wiley) Busch Busch IV (Busch) Von Busch “Trudy” “Billy” Busch Harvey von Gontard Jr. (Busch) Busch III Busch (1938-) (1945-) (1953-) Gontard (1955-) (Busch) Busch (1963-) Gontard (1925-) (1954-) Webster (1937-) (1959-) (1936-86) Valentine “If they could run their (1927-) (1957-) Climbed Kilimanjaro, Accidentally Billy fought in both the private lives like they ﬂies jets shot his friend in Supreme Court and on run their breweries, the face Geraldo for his illegitimate they’d be Jesus Christ” daughter, Scarlett

Hal Susie Steven Virginia Adalbert von In a separate incident, Gontard III Garwood Busch-Transou August August Maria Busch accidentally shot 69 (1966-) (1979-) (1952-) Transou III Busch IV Busch (1977-) himself in the leg Last seen in 1981 in a Phoenix airport with a disbarred lawyer (1964-) who was facing drug charges. Declared dead in 1986 AB representative at Cowboy equestrian events Worked as his father’s executive assistant for ﬁve years. Two weeks after his half-brother was named head of Anheuser-Busch, Steven Busch acquired Krey Distributing, one of the brewery’s most lucrative wholesalers Favorite Beer? Married second cousin Bud Light once removed

Busch was horri"ed. He told the company’s wholesale distribu- owned more stock than the family did,” he says. “Nothing lasts tors at their annual conference in April that a sale of Anheuser- forever, especially in the business world.” Busch would not happen “on my watch.” In May, Busch spoke August III’s apparent enthusiasm about selling the company to Anheuser-Busch distributors at a national beer wholesalers’ was more puzzling. He had devoted his entire working life to en- meeting in Washington. Within a few minutes it was obvious suring Anheuser-Busch’s independence, even from those in the something was not right, says Harry Schuhmacher, publisher industry he probably should have cooperated with more closely. of Business Beer Daily. On stage, Busch slurred his words and “It’s hard to imagine him giving up the company,” says Reisinger. dropped his microphone. Executives said he had taken strong “But it would appear that he saw the train wreck coming and got cold medication. out of the way.” A month later, InBev made an unsolicited bid of $65 a share. When InBev increased its all-cash o$er to $70 a share, the The stock had been trading in the high "fties, and Busch was put board immediately accepted. August IV earned $100 million from into the most di!cult situation of his career. “Certainly during the sale and, like his predecessors, was given a generous con- the negotiations and afterward people thought he seemed o$-kil- sulting contract—$120,000 a month through 2013, according to ter,” says MacIntosh. “He didn’t seem as present as people hoped. company "lings. He also kept his seat on the board of directors. $%(' S Sometimes in board meetings he didn’t speak at all.” Then, once again, he disappeared. He didn’t attend any industry

MAGE InBev soon had two surprising supporters among the Busch

I events, he wasn’t seen at One Busch Place. In 2010 he participat- family: August III and his half-brother, Adolphus, who had been ed in only one of nine Anheuser-Busch InBev board meetings. angered by the Third’s power grab some 35 years earlier. William “The last time I saw him was the day the company o!cially J. Vollmar, who retired in February 2008 as Anheuser-Busch’s became ABI. It was in a Holiday Inn in Secaucus [N.J.],” says Stein- ; GETTY ; ERG $%'

B corporate archivist, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in July of man, a longtime industry observer. “It was a legacy of genera- that year that he believed Adolphus’s support for the InBev deal tions, and even without other demons, that’s a very big burden LOOM

B stemmed from their decades-old feud. “I don’t know if vindictive- on his soul.” Finnie, the former executive, says: “Gussie was a ness is the right word, but it’s something close to that,” he said. great leader in his day. The Third was incredible. The Fourth

; ; $%' HOTO “Adolphus IV didn’t feel that August III treated their father right. should never have been CEO. That was his tragedy.” P

P ... So now, in e$ect, he’s trying to destroy the family legacy.” Speaking by phone during a brief stop in St. Louis, Adolphus As the company was slipping from his hands, Busch met said he was only doing what was best for the company’s share- a fun-loving brunette named Adrienne Martin at a local

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A holders. “When the deal came down in 2008, Warren Bu$ett nightclub. In the January interview with the St. Louis Post- 70 said. “But I couldn’t do anything.” Busch. “I would have given up my life to save the company,” he not return phone calls seeking comment. enforcementconsultant. Localpolice chief Thomas Becker did people who have more resources,” with careful saysmore are “Police Richardit. about heard reporter Weinblatt, local a a law onlyafterthen and fourdays untilfact, police thethebyafter NewsofMartin’s death inBusch’s mansion wasn’t made public alarms.raise appear to dieventnot$ thediderentaccounts of gaveBuschthat three fact The house. the ofrest searchtheto ing to the police report, law enforcement did not seek a warrant wrongdoing, there are several mysteries about the case. Accord behest. Busch did not attend her memorial service on Dec. using cocaine regularly for several months before she died. septum, which the medical examiner said suggests she had been police. An autopsy revealed a six-millimeterprescriptionoxycodone, fora had Busch nor she according hole to in Martin’s nasal hours before her death, and cocaine six or " ve duringOxyContin) as known her(better oxycodone painkiller last hour. Neither prescription the of doses lethal taken had showedMartin that to the toilet paper. A Glock pistol with an extended magazine hung on a hook next shotgunrested behind the door of a smaller room with a toilet. loaded A walkie-talkies. and cords, plugs, devices, electronic plastic cups of what looked like melted chocolate shakes. stand were several Gatorade bottles, a glass of red wine, andscissors, two a #ashlight, and an electronics magazine. On the night bed, where Busch says he slept, were a laptop computer, a pair of was in shock,” says Margulis. “Busch Louis. lawyerdefense St. criminal in leading the gulis, pronounced Martin dead. Busch was in the kitchen with Art Mar light and try and see. erator with Michael Jung, a member of Busch’s household sta $. wanted to resolve it legally so he can put this behind them.” He son. her forrelationshipconcern Adrienne andhis with of andonenowas atfault. Mr. Busch made thisdecision because “All of the investigators have concluded this was case, Mauricea tragic Graham, said accidentin his o ! ce in downtown St. Louis: quickly agreed to a $1.5 million settlement. Busch’s lawyer in negligence.”the Kevin sought unspeci"ed damagesclaiming Adrienne’s for death hiswas resulta ofhis“carelessness son. and Busch son, and Busch in the cockpit of a helicopter. recently, Kevin’s Facebook page featured a picturepunishinghimforwhat happened thegirltoArizona.”ofin himself,Until his versationsafter Adrienne’s death, Busch said “he thinks Godis “were friendly, almost like brothers.” mains Heambiguous. added In the thatpolice report,in Kevintheir said he conand Busch Around 1p.m. onDec. The role of Adrienne’sof reroleex-husband,drama The the Kevin,in of suspicion any of Busch cleared investigators Although Martin was cremated "ve days after her death at her mother’s February, in it completed was report toxicolo y & the When Inthe attached bathroom, the counters were cluttered with The police noted that among the items on the right side of the Fourteenminutes later, at 1:26 p.m., emergency responders Operator: O.K., I’ll get them going right away. a get gonna I’m there. We know.back don’t Jung: dark It’s Operator: Is she breathing? Jung: This girl’s just not waking up. Emergency operator: O.K., what’s the problem? In April, Kevin " led a civil wrongful death suit against Busch,

19, a call was logged by a local 911 op he felt after the sale of Anheuser- of sale the after felt he despair the with deal him helped Dispatch , Busch said Martin had had Martin said Busch , here in New York, August Busch III, was nicknamed Three Sticks The Decider

30. ------the real villains are.” who out nd " to hard it’s but betrayed, feel “People saga. the of sense a wounding,”is says #y,Schla “There the St. Brewery Louis co-founder, of intercom. security the answers one no and locked, remains home his of front in gate iron wrought could also say he could have been stronger.” ashis father pushed him away. You could feel bad for him. You cess.TheFourth made that choice. Heclung tofatherhis even Fourth’sthe of arbiterperceived ultimatesuc the always been morethetried.Anddespondenthe Third became.Thehe has harder the withheld, was it more The approval. and $a ection the Fourth has been young, he’s been so hungry for his father’s resolve this matter and move on. ” I believe it would be in the best interests of everyone involved tolis, is a little more direct: “I think he’s going to be "ne. However, point, and he is attending to those.” Busch’s other lawyer, Margu life. He still has important responsibilities from a business stand working hard and staying busy to lead a productive and ful"llinghis lawyer Graham pauses for along time. “I think Mr. Busch is if Busch is seeking treatment for depression or substance abuse, reasons,” according to a company announcement. When asked directorsof Anheuser-Buschof InBevfor “personal andhealth board the on term another seek to not decided Busch public, InMarch, just before Kevin Martin’s suit against himwas made it needed to be, with or without a Busch in charge.” in Florida. “And it put Bud into a global position, which is wherebrother of August III’s and owns a lucrative beer distributorship lot of money,” says Peter Busch about the sale. He’s another half- ownershave savedpeoplea of“What happened lot it. madea what the purpose of life is.” havecompaniesdi$abouterent ideas two two the if asalmost that it has created scores of millionaires because of its stock. It’s hard-driving culture from Brazil. Employees join InBev knowing Busches,”says Stirling.“That’s replacedbeenincredibly byan going commercial. Some executives had to turn in their Black Berrys. In all,their Brito soldin $7 billionturn worth to of assets,had including the executives Some commercial. going corporatearenowonjets# space.People to y o! used cewho where only three people used to sit, has been turned into open U.S.workforce,executiveThe late2008. inwere o$ laid #oor, other billion. Approximately 1,400 people, about 6 of company expenses. When Brito "nished with that, he cut an billionabout$1 cuthow toout laid and Ocean Blue called was throughon the one plan August IV and his team had crafted: It remade. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s CEO, Carlos Brito, has followed ceed, perhaps this summer. CourtofAppeals, Eastern District, will determine how topro Missouri The decision. theappealed they them, against ruling andwould have rights topart ofthe settlement. After aninitial posed. They would also have to be included in any negotiations settlement. If they’re successful, they could force Busch to be de Kevintoofriendlyis withBusch to push more fora substantial ingdrugsto their unknowing daughter. Theyalso claimed that suit,accusing Busch ofacting with “evil motive” and ofprovid parents, who are divorced, each petitioned to be included in the income rose 14 3.1 declined volume Busch Gardens amusement parks. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s sales Augusthasn’tIV beenseenpublicly severalin months. The MacIntosh, the author of At least one family member believes the company’s new new company’s the believes member family one least At “A paternalistic, slightly complacent culture existed under the Meanwhile,companythe thatBusch relinquished beenhas But before the court could approve the settlement, Adrienne’s

percent, to $3.9

percent in North America in 2010, while net ' Dethroning the King,

billion. says, “Ever since

percent of the ------

DOUG KANTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES