Family businesses represent some two thirds of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
 

Approximately 90% of all businesses in the United States are family firms.
 

Approximately two thirds of the U.S. workforce is employed in family businesses.
 

Approximately two thirds of the companies on the S & P 500 Index are family businesses.
 

The typical U.S. family business employs 50 full-timers, and 6 percent report having 500 or more employees. Family firms tend to keep employment levels stable and to avoid downsizing.
 

Family-firm performance is greater when founding families maintain an ownership stake.
 

The average American family business was founded shortly after World War II.  Nearly 70 percent of these businesses are still controlled by the founders or the second generation.
 

Families own their firms for an average of 78 years.
 

Nearly a quarter of family firms in the U.S. work in the manufacturing industry, while 17 percent specialize in wholesale/distribution, 12 percent in construction, and 11 percent in retail.
 

An unprecedented 39 percent of U.S. family businesses will experience leadership shifts in the next five years, as CEO's retire or semi-retire.