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Today on Forbes, how chicken scion Jim Perdue broke the third-generation curse. In a sheltered bit of the Chesapeake Bay in front of Jim Perdue's home in Berlin, Maryland, the scion of America's most famous chicken family raises clams. Each year he sells about a thousand to local crab shacks. The rest are eaten by the Perdue clan. The clam farm is the last remainder of his dream of striking out on his own and farming seafood, which inspired him in 1974 at 25 years old to walk away from his family's successful poultry business. From a barn on the property, the 77-year-old Perdue says, quote, "You don't know if you're getting a pat on the back because you did a good job or because your name is on the door."
The barn structure is adorned with memorabilia from the company's history, including the famous ads featuring his father, Frank, with his signature slogan, quote, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken." Frank was the legendary poultry magnate who grew his own father's hatchery, founded in 1920, into a $1 billion in sales business by the time he turned over the reins to Jim in 1991. Jim had come back to the family coop a few years earlier and only after Frank threatened to sell the company unless he returned.
Perdue says, quote, "My dad didn't trust a lot of people, but he trusted me." Frank, who died in 2005 at 84 years old, still looms large at Perdue Farms. But in the 35 years since Jim first became chairman and CEO, it's the third generation who has supercharged the family business into America's fourth-largest chicken producer with $9.2 billion in 2025 revenue. Under his control, Perdue Farms has also become the country's largest organic soybean oil producer, over 500 million pounds annually, and one of the biggest grain traders overall, over 2 billion dollars of grain each year.
He has also avoided the third-generation curse. It's estimated that only 10% of family-owned businesses or less make it to the fourth. And he has grown the company nearly 10 times over. Perdue says, quote, "The idea is to add value and to upgrade. It's not like we need to go out and buy more chickens right now." Building on the strategy begun by his father, using vertical integration to focus on premium products, Perdue Farms is now America's largest organic chicken producer, with more than a 30% market share, and largest organic grain purchaser,
roughly 20 billion pounds of grain. Aside from poultry, thanks to its ownership of Niman Ranch and Coleman, Perdue is among the country's largest producers of pasture-raised meat. Niman Ranch's regenerative organic certified beef program, for example, has cattle grazing across 105,000 acres and plans to reach 250,000 acres by 2028. Perdue spent over 14 years between 2002 and 2016 transitioning every one of its chicken farms to being fully antibiotic-free.
Larger competitors, such as Tyson, have recently reneged on their own promises to go antibiotic-free, blaming the cost. But Perdue says antibiotic-free farming is not actually more expensive. The company has implemented a multi-pronged approach that includes decreasing the density of livestock on farms and keeping where the animals live clean, well-ventilated, and well-lit. Perdue says it's all to breed a tastier chicken. But it's also more profitable. Perdue Farms chicken sells at higher prices than other large-scale producers. And Forbes estimates that the company's EBITDA profit margin tops 15% compared
to Tyson's 6% and JBS backed Pilgrim's Pride's 7%. That extra cushion helps Perdue withstand the swings and cycles common in agricultural businesses. He says plainly, quote, "We're not the cheapest chicken out there." It adds up to a substantial family fortune, which Forbes estimates at more than $5 billion. That includes not only the equity stake in the business worth $4 billion, but also the value of the dividends which have been paid out since 2005. Perdue says, quote, "That was to maintain family unity. My dad was so focused on the company. He wanted every penny to go back into the business."
The family still owns 100% of the business and Perdue shares it with his three sisters as well as their children and grandchildren. There are currently about 50 Perdue family members, including five members of the fourth generation with jobs at the company. Perdue is now run by Kevin McAdams, the third CEO from outside the family. Chris Oliviero is 52 years old and is part of the fourth generation. He previously ran Neiman Marcus and is today Perdue's senior vice president for commercial strategy and business
planning. He says, quote, "We're all temporary stewards of this business and we are willing to do all the hard stuff." For full coverage, check out Chloe Sorvino's piece on forbes.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.
