Family feuds over late billionaire William Davidson's charitable trust
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Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson looks on during the third quarter between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Sunday, June 6 , 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. / Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press
Family members of late Bloomfield Hills billionaire William Davidson are feuding over who should control his charitable trust, accusing each other of wasting time and money in a complicated series of court filings in Oakland County Probate Court.
According to the records unsealed at the request of the Free Press, Davidson’s widow, Karen Davidson, and his son Ethan appear to be pitted against Mary and Jonathan Aaron — Karen’s daughter from a prior marriage and her husband, who is president of the William Davidson Foundation in Southfield.
Davidson, who owned Guardian Industries of Auburn Hills and the Detroit Pistons, had a net worth valued at more than $3 billion when he died in 2009.
Karen and Ethan Davidson and Mary and Jonathan Aaron, along with three others, are members of the foundation’s board of directors.
Since William Davidson’s death, his foundation has given millions of dollars to educational and charitable organizations including the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, the University of Texas and the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science in New York.
Jonathan Aaron filed a petition in Oakland Probate Court in March, saying board members had reached an impasse over the makeup of the board. He asked the judge to divide the foundation into two entities, saying in filings that it "is warranted, and required, to bring to an end the current impasse, to stop the ongoing waste of foundation assets on expensive consultants and to protect and preserve the foundation’s charitable assets and Mr. Davidson’s charitable intentions."
Karen Davidson, though, said in an affidavit that her husband intended the foundation to be a single organization, with emphasis on family.
"It was meant to be a family foundation, the family structure of the foundation provides that family members will support one another in the philanthropic endeavors of the foundation," her court filing says. "It is a way of keeping the family working together now and into the future on philanthropic matters. William Davidson specifically expressed this to me before he died."
According to the court filing, the foundation handed out $46 million in grants in 2012, with an additional $7.5 million earmarked for future giving.
Family members have refused to comment publicly about the dispute, but the court records show some friction after the board hired a consulting firm to review Jonathan Aaron’s $320,000 salary in 2009. The board voted unanimously to reduce the salary to $125,000 a year.
The matter is currently before Oakland Probate Judge Daniel O’Brien, but will likely play out in a Delaware courtroom. O’Brien ruled earlier this month he did not have jurisdiction since the foundation was incorporated in Delaware.
Family spokesman Matt Friedman said Karen and Ethan Davidson are hopeful the matter would be resolved and pledged the foundation would continue its work.
"They feel very strongly about it," he said.
According to the records unsealed at the request of the Free Press, Davidson’s widow, Karen Davidson, and his son Ethan appear to be pitted against Mary and Jonathan Aaron — Karen’s daughter from a prior marriage and her husband, who is president of the William Davidson Foundation in Southfield.
Davidson, who owned Guardian Industries of Auburn Hills and the Detroit Pistons, had a net worth valued at more than $3 billion when he died in 2009.
Karen and Ethan Davidson and Mary and Jonathan Aaron, along with three others, are members of the foundation’s board of directors.
Since William Davidson’s death, his foundation has given millions of dollars to educational and charitable organizations including the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, the University of Texas and the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science in New York.
Jonathan Aaron filed a petition in Oakland Probate Court in March, saying board members had reached an impasse over the makeup of the board. He asked the judge to divide the foundation into two entities, saying in filings that it "is warranted, and required, to bring to an end the current impasse, to stop the ongoing waste of foundation assets on expensive consultants and to protect and preserve the foundation’s charitable assets and Mr. Davidson’s charitable intentions."
Karen Davidson, though, said in an affidavit that her husband intended the foundation to be a single organization, with emphasis on family.
"It was meant to be a family foundation, the family structure of the foundation provides that family members will support one another in the philanthropic endeavors of the foundation," her court filing says. "It is a way of keeping the family working together now and into the future on philanthropic matters. William Davidson specifically expressed this to me before he died."
According to the court filing, the foundation handed out $46 million in grants in 2012, with an additional $7.5 million earmarked for future giving.
Family members have refused to comment publicly about the dispute, but the court records show some friction after the board hired a consulting firm to review Jonathan Aaron’s $320,000 salary in 2009. The board voted unanimously to reduce the salary to $125,000 a year.
The matter is currently before Oakland Probate Judge Daniel O’Brien, but will likely play out in a Delaware courtroom. O’Brien ruled earlier this month he did not have jurisdiction since the foundation was incorporated in Delaware.
Family spokesman Matt Friedman said Karen and Ethan Davidson are hopeful the matter would be resolved and pledged the foundation would continue its work.
"They feel very strongly about it," he said.
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