I'm an heir to the Anheuser-Busch fortune. I learned about manual labor on my family farm and am passing those lessons on to my kids.

• Billy Busch is an heir to the Anheuser-Busch multi-billion-dollar fortune.
• He said he learned through manual labor on his family's farm full of exotic animals.
• His inheritance plan is designed to avoid family feuds like those that embroiled his siblings.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Billy Busch, founder of the Busch Family Brewing & Distilling Company and author of "Family Reins: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of an American Dynasty." It has been edited for length and clarity.

I learned the value of hard work laboring on my parents' farm. But their farm was no typical operation. Grant's Farm was a sprawling estate that had been home to my family since 1903. In 1954, my parents opened it up to the public to promote their brands.

The farm had elephants, monkeys, and almost any other animal you could imagine. It was also home to the famous Clydesdale horses, which were intertwined with Budweiser thanks to my Dad's brilliant marketing.

My siblings and I were charged with maintaining the farm, keeping it beautiful so that when the public came through they would see a place that was well taken care of. On a typical day, I might go from slopping out the pig pen to running elephant shows. The reputation of the Anheuser-Busch brand was always top of mind for my parents, especially my father. The business was his love, and he felt a huge responsibility for the legacy left by his father and grandfather.

My parents kept us grounded through farm work

My parents didn't talk much about money, but we understood it should never be wasted. There was a sense that even a great fortune could be lost if we didn't care for it. I learned to always turn the lights off so I didn't rack up the electric bill.

My parents wanted my siblings and me to be grounded. My dad was always in favor of getting us up early to do chores. He wanted us to know it took hard work to build anything, much less a dynasty.

My parents didn't just teach us to do what we were asked — they wanted us to do twice what we were asked. Anything we do should be done to perfection. That was very important to them.

In addition to these lessons, I learned a lot about hard work from the employees on the farm. My parents were running a massive business, so it sometimes felt like I was raised by the workers around us. Our farm manager worked for Grant's Farm for more than 50 years and had a huge influence on me, teaching me about plants, animals, and machinery.

I had a trust to live off so I could pursue my passions

My dad had 11 kids, including five sons. It was always assumed that his oldest son, my half-brother, would take over the business. My oldest full brother was also groomed to be involved with Anheuser-Busch. I was never pressured to work in the brewery.

When I was 18, my father gave me a trust. It was enough money that I could live on it comfortably, which freed me to work in areas that I was passionate about. I went to the University of Missouri to study agriculture and animal husbandry. I also became a champion polo player, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch.

Later, I invested in a bar business and a distribution company, where I worked in the warehouse and drove trucks. It was very interesting learning about a different aspect of my family business.

I received the rest of my inheritance in 1989 when my father died. I was about 30.

Luck of the draw will determine my children's inheritance

I took a similar approach to inheritance with my seven kids, who range in age from 18 to 33. When they turned 18 they received a small trust that they could use for investing or starting a business.

I want my children to be financially intelligent and understand hard work. I've taught them about investing. I want them to have a trusted team around them but to always make their own financial decisions. When you rely on someone else to make your decisions for you, you're setting yourself up for a big mistake.

My dad's will caused strife between my siblings and me that we still haven't recovered from. I wanted to create a very black-and-white inheritance plan. That's hard, but I know it will save my children a lot of heartache and lawyer's bills in the future.

I'm heavily invested in land. So, I've split my land assets up into seven parcels. When I pass, each of my children will pull a number from a hat, and that will decide what parcel they get. I hope that will lead to no arguments, and an inheritance that's as even as possible.