The Rise and Fall of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty

As a child growing up in rural Missouri who listened to countless baseball games on the radio of my favorite baseball team, I heard the names Budweiser and Busch repeatedly over the course of many years.

Because of the rise in popularity of TV shows like Riches, Succession, and Yellowstone, I was curious about the Busch family--the Kennedys of St. Louis. What became of that dynasty? How did it get started? How did it grow in fame and fortune? What caused its downfall?

To find the answers to those questions, I read Bill Knoedelseder's book Bitter Brew - The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's King of Beers.

In this conversation, we learn how the Busch family survived prohibition and why they were able to succeed in the years to come. But we also learn the reasons for the demise of the family-owned business and why they sold out to a larger brewer.