ST. LOUIS – Adolphus Busch IV, a member of the iconic Busch brewing brood who mostly kept himself at arm’s length from the family business, has died.
Busch died Saturday, May 30, at the age of 72. He was one of 11 children of August “Gussie” Busch Jr. and the eldest child of Gussie’s third wife, Getrude “Trudy” Busch.
A cause of death has not been made public.
Adolphus lived at Belleau Farm in St. Charles County. His half-brother, August Busch III, lives on a neighboring farm.
In June 2008, Adolphus drew the ire of St. Louisans and members of his own family by penning a letter in support of InBev’s $52 billion proposed takeover of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. It’s believed he did this to spite his siblings and other family members who forced Gussie out during a coup in May 1975.
“I think what you saw at the very tale end of Anheuser-Busch is these different weightings by different members of the family, around which one is most important as they went through that particular transition,” Peter Boumgarden, director of the Koch Center for Family Enterprise at Washington University, said.
Adolphus and brother Billy Busch attempted to purchase Grant’s Farm when the Saint Louis Zoo showed interest in acquiring the property.
“I’m a trustee and I’m also a beneficiary,” Adolphus said in 2015 interview.
“As a trustee, I’m remaining neutral because eventually the decision has to be made by the corporate trustee, which is Wells Fargo, and they have said at this point that the zoo’s offer is better than Billy’s.”
The zoo eventually withdrew its offer, and four Busch family members submitted a counter proposal, keeping Grant’s Farm in the family.
“This property is all about the family history and the legacy and I would prefer on a personal level to see it remain in the family,” Adolphus said at the time.
Growing up in a family and name brand known around the world might not have been easy for Adolphus.
As Boumgarden points out, the children of the beer baron made their own paths forward from the Anheuser-Busch shadow over St. Louis.
“As individuals, they’ve been able to find ways to find their own voice in the midst of a really complicated situation of having a name and prominence in a community that can lead to a sense of pressure of what you need to be; not just for yourself but for those around you,” Boumgarden said.
The former beer heir was an outspoken conservationist and environmentalist. His nonprofit, the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, recently partnered with St. Charles County to transform a 785-acre former private duck club into a public refuge for migratory birds and wetland park and education center.
Adolphus made national headlines in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting by renouncing his membership in the National Rifle Association. In November 2017, he voiced support of medicinal marijuana.