On June 5th, 2021, Scholastic CEO Maurice Richard Robinson Jr. passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. He was known for introducing young readers to popular literary series including Harry Potter, Magic School Bus, Captain Underpants, Hunger Games, and more.
At the age of 84, the guy, who was better known as Richard Robinson in general and “Dick” in particular, passed out while on vacation with his family at Martha’s Vineyard. However, his succession plan for the US$1.2 billion publishing company established by his father, Maurice Robinson the First, was even more unexpected than his premature departure.
Well, there are many levels of being sprung, such as being so sprung that you decide to give your girlfriend and work colleague control of your billion-dollar publishing company and all of your personal belongings rather than your children.
Neither of Robinson’s two adult sons, John Benham “Ben” Robinson or Maurice “Reece,” received it from him. He didn’t leave it to any of his siblings, and he certainly didn’t give it to his ex-wives, Helen V. Benham (1986-2003), the founder of the Scholastic Early Childhood Division, and Katherine Woodroofe (1968-unclear), an editor for Scholastic magazine, with whom he had children.
Instead, Iole Lucchese, the chief strategy officer at Scholastic, who has worked there for 30 years and has been described by Richard Robinson as his “partner and closest friend” and by almost everyone else as old Dick’s longtime love interest, will receive the keys to the kingdom and all of Robinson’s earthly possessions as the Wall Street Journal reviewed a 2018 version of Robinson’s will.
Even worse, Robinson allegedly never “groomed a successor,” which is why so much of the Succession-level drama occurs, as his second son, Ben Robinson, 34, told The Wall Street Journal that “What I want most is a peaceful settlement,” while son Maurice ‘Reece’ Robinson, 25, described the results of the will as “unexpected and shocking.”
In the years prior to the pandemic, Scholastic’s revenue was basically stagnant. The company’s specialization in children’s literature makes it an enticing potential for acquisition by another publishing behemoth. However, influential people in the field were aware that Scholastic was off-limits while Robinson was in charge since he preferred to keep it in the family.
However, Lucchese could complicate that, theoretically.
Sources: Awm, Iheartintelligence, Wsj