In the spring of 2015, upset with what he saw as reckless business decisions, Apotex billionaire Barry Sherman’s son Jonathon floated the idea to his three siblings that their father was incompetent and unable to manage the family’s business affairs, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.This came at a time when Jonathon and Barry were having tense discussions about how the Sherman family fortune should be spent. Specifically, according to an email exchange he had with Barry over two days, Jonathon disagreed with what he saw as his father’s reliance on “gut” feelings instead of sound business plans. Jonathon also wanted more money invested with his own ventures, and less with his father’s friend, businessman Frank D’Angelo.Like many wealthy families, the Shermans had disputes over how the family wealth should be spent. In recent years, Canadian families the Stronachs and the Sorbaras have been locked in very public battles that have spilled over into the courts. Issues in those instances include money made by a wealthy entrepreneur and who in the family is best to steward that wealth.At one point in their 2015 email conversation, the then 73-year-old Barry told his 32-year old son, “please also remember that I have been making business decisions for many decades, often making decisions with which others disagree. The result has been some big losses, but also some even bigger gains. As a result of my decisions, you will likely be a multi-billionaire.”Soon after these tense discussions between father and son in the spring of 2015, Jonathon sent an email to his sisters, with a subject line that referred to them as fellow shareholders. In the email, Jonathon suggested their father’s actions were jeopardizing their inheritance, according to three people who saw the email at the time and discussed its contents with Barry Sherman. Jonathon’s email referred to Barry as the founder, a ref ...
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