Jeff Wullenweber's family has seen it all in the car business, from wars to the Great Depression.

That makes it all the more painful for Wullenweber to close his family's Glenway Dodge dealership in Bridgetown later this month.

"Maybe times are changing," Wullenweber said. "I'm third-generation, and it makes me sick that it has to happen on my watch."

Wullenweber's father, Clyde, bought the dealership in 1978, and the family marketed it heavily as a locally owned operation. But business started to decline heavily in 2002, and Wullenweber said the dealership has lost about $100,000 so far in 2004.

The dealership is unaffiliated with Wullenweber Jeep-Chrysler, which is run by Jeff Wullenweber's cousins and located nearby.

Since making the decision earlier this year, Jeff Wullenweber has been trying to find employees jobs at other local dealerships. He said Glenway Dodge will auction off most of its assets this summer, and he's already received calls about the property, at 6475 Glenway Ave.

Wullenweber has fought the usual range of barriers, ranging from increased competition to the population flight into surrounding suburbs and Chrysler Corp.'s 1998 merger with German automaker Daimler-Benz.

"They made a lot of promises about the great new product that was coming," he said. "They said, 'It's coming, it's coming, it's coming.' ... Well, so's Christmas. We haven't gotten any significant new product in several years."

No trust in a trust?

With all of the talk of Marge Schott's estimated $100 million estate when her will was filed in Hamilton County Probate Court last week, the hot topic among local lawyers and business types was this: Why was Schott's will in probate court at all?

Many wealthy people, particularly those who want to keep their wealth private, put assets into a trust under control of a trustee and out of public view.

"We were very interested why it was not put into a trust, given the privacy of the individual," said Richard Schwartz, senior partner at Schwartz, Manes & Ruby. "Most people put assets into a trust primarily for privacy. They don't want anyone to know what they've got."

"This is the way she wanted to do it," responds Schott's attorney, Bob Martin. "I brought it (a trust agreement) up to her a dozen times. She said, 'It's mine, and I want to control it.' "

Destination: Omaha

Omaha, Neb.,was the center of the business world last weekend, and Peter Levin wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Levin, chairman of Greystone Investment Management in Norwood, traveled to the annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as he's done twice before. He manages a "large position" in the stock, which goes for a cool $93,000 per share.

Listening to the wisdom of Berkshire Hathaway chairman and legendary investor Warren Buffett for six hours might seem tiring to some, but not to bottom-line types such as Levin and the 19,000 or so others who attended.

"There's nothing like it," Levin said. "I'm always reminded when I come home how little I know compared to one of the best in the business."

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com