Pierre Castel began planning for succession more than three decades ago. The French billionaire, founder of one of the world’s largest drinks empires, consolidated ownership of his business in a company in Gibraltar, then created a foundation in Liechtenstein, before finally setting up a trust in Singapore.
Castel built his eponymous conglomerate from a tiny wine and fresh produce operation around Bordeaux in the 1940s into an international company worth some $10 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It spans breweries, soft drinks producers and plantations across Africa and had €6.5 billion ($7.59 billion) in annual sales. The succession process ...