Indeed it is. But then Herbert, with his silvery, gravity-defying pompadour, is no stranger to amazing feats. The son of Russian immigrants, he became a retailing legend some 30 years ago by pioneering the concept of a discount pharmacy. With the fortune he made from his chain of Dart drugstores he went on to pile up still greater riches by investing in shopping malls. Robert quickly followed in his father's footsteps, launching two highly successful discount chains of his own—Crown Books and Trak Auto, which specializes in replacement parts for cars. At Dart, father and son had side-by-side offices. They had houses near each other, and several times a week the families dined together.
As a father, Herbert voiced delight at his son's accomplishments. But as a proud and strong-willed executive, he was less enthusiastic at the prospect of anyone usurping his role. His ire first came to light at a Dart board meeting in April, when Robert spoke out against a business venture his father had proposed. Four days later, The Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy piece on Dart that was highly flattering to Robert—and hardly mentioned Herbert. Now Herbert was furious. In following weeks, father and son quarreled repeatedly, with Robert pressing for greater control in the company.
The final break came in May at a board meeting at Crown Books, when Gloria pleaded with Herbert to make peace with his son. To Herbert, that meant backing down and allowing Robert to take power. So on June 30 he announced that he was firing Robert from both Crown and Dart, and immediately suspended his son's $1.4 million annual salary. While he was at it, he also ousted his wife from the board of Dart, a seat she had held for 33 years. As part of the shuffle, he named his younger son, Ronald, with whom he had never been particularly close, as Dart Group president. (For the moment, Linda, who has sided with Robert and her mother, retains her job in a family financing company.) "Bobby probably just pushed too hard by Herbie's standards," says Bill Regardie, a Washington businessman and friend of the Hafts'. "It's by far the most competitive [family] I've ever met."
Things really got ugly when Gloria filed for a legal separation Aug. 10, demanding control of either the Dart Group or the family's private real estate holdings. In one alleged incident described in court papers, Gloria contended that Herbert attacked her in the bedroom of their $4 million mansion in Northwest Washington, throwing her against a headboard. She also accused her husband of being a habitual philanderer, which she said she had tolerated for the sake of her family. (Twelve years ago, Herbert settled out of court, allegedly for $3.5 million, with a woman who claimed to have had a 15-year affair with him.) In response, Herbert and his legal team denounced Gloria for entering into "an unholy partnership" with Robert to seize control of Dart "for vindictive reasons."
Though Gloria and Herbert are no longer speaking, they continue to live under the same roof. But that doesn't seem to bother Herbert. At a court appearance Aug. 20, the normally reticent mogul was chatty and upbeat. "This is like a baseball game of nine innings," he told reporters. "I am confident that we will prevail in the end." Gloria, however, cried on the witness stand last week as she described their breakup. Herbert "zeroed in on me in a way that I had seen him do with other business deals with other people," she said. "But I had never thought it would come back on me."
As for Robert, he is more saddened and stunned than angered. When he called to set up a Father's Day outing for Herbert with Robert's two sons, he was told that Herbert was too busy. "He wouldn't take my calls," says Robert. "He loved my kids. That's really unbelievable to me." Still, Robert is trying to remain optimistic that some reconciliation can be achieved. "This is very tragic for our family. I was very close to my father," he says. "But you never give-up on your family. As long as there is a family, there's always hope."
BILL HEWITT
ROCHELLE JONES in Washington
- Contributors:
- Rochelle Jones.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
