Johnson V. Johnson

Investigates the family rifts and financial complexities that led to the courtroom battle among the prospective heirs of the Johnson & Johnson millions

When J. Seward Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, died at 87 in 1983, his will left virtually everything to his third wife, Basia, 42 years his junior. Johnson's six children (by his first two wives) angrily instituted what would become the longest and most expensive will contest in U.S. history. Journalist Goldsmith sat through the entire trial and spent countless hours interviewing family members and attorneys. The first parts of the book trace the family's turbulent history; the last concerns the trial itself. What emerges is a larger-than-life saga of greed, corruption, and decadence that becomes almost overwhelming at times. There is sure to be a considerable audience for this book at public libraries. Jack Ray, Loyola/Notre Dame Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.