What Netflix's "House of Guinness" Taught Me About Building A Family That Endures

There are very few names in the world that instantly conjure both history and legend. “Guinness” is one of them. For some, it’s a pint of dark stout in a Dublin pub; for others, it’s one of Ireland’s most powerful dynasties, weaving together beer, banking, politics, art, and aristocracy. Netflix’s new show about the Guinness family has reignited the fascination with this extraordinary lineage; not just because of their wealth or fame, but because of their secret weapon: family.

The Guinnesses were never perfect. In fact, their story is riddled with scandal, eccentricity, and heartbreak. Yet, what makes them compelling is precisely how those flaws never broke them. Time and again, the Guinness siblings, cousins, and even half-bastard relatives stood taller because they had each other. In a modern era obsessed with hyper-individualism, the Guinness story feels almost radical. It puts forth this truth: the greatest fortune you can inherit is not money, but a strong family.

Arthur Guinness Didn’t Just Brew Beer, He Brewed a Dynasty

To understand the Guinness phenomenon, you have to go back to 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease (yes, nine thousand; that’s not a typo) for the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. He wasn’t just betting on beer. He was betting on the future of his family. That lease became a metaphor for what Guinness would always stand for: longevity, faith, and boldness.

In a modern era obsessed with hyper-individualism, the Guinness story feels almost radical.

Arthur was a man of conviction. At a time when Ireland was steeped in poverty and instability, he chose to build something lasting. He had 21 children with his wife, Olivia, but sadly only 10 survived to adulthood. The couple embedded in them not just ambition, but faith and a strong sense of family and business permanence, which became the driving force of everything they did. Arthur was known for his philanthropy, his support of education, and his stubborn belief in providence.

What Arthur created wasn’t just a business; it was a dynasty. The Guinness name quickly became synonymous with more than stout; it became shorthand for resilience, loyalty, and cultural impact.

The Power of Siblings

Fast forward a few generations, and the Guinness family was sprawling across Europe like a living legend. They were bankers, aristocrats, politicians, and socialites. Some were dazzling successes and others were tragic cautionary tales. But the thread that tied them together was always the same: they had each other’s backs.

While the Netflix show is inaccurate in depicting the siblings, it still captures this family unity in vivid detail. No matter how chaotic their personal lives became, the Guinness siblings leaned on one another. They weren’t isolated tycoons in constant competition with each other; instead, they were a clan. And that is what makes House of Guinness a refreshing reminder.

Throughout the series, there were countless arguments between Edward and Arthur and yet, no amount of conflict pulled them apart. One scene in particular that stuck with me was when Edward Guinness screamed at Arthur “I am chained to you” with frustration and grief. This feeling never fades. It comes and goes through every business and personal struggle they face, but standing by and protecting each other is part of the mission Arthur Guinness left his children, and they understand that. 

Legends That Made History

House of Guinness begins where most family sagas end: with a death. When Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, the family patriarch, dies in 1868, he leaves behind not just a fortune, but a challenge: four adult children tasked with preserving the family empire without destroying one another in the process.

Arthur, the eccentric politician.
Edward, the cautious visionary.
Ben, the lost soul.

And Anne, the frail but fiercely moral sister. The only daughter, excluded from the brewery by law, yet the one who carries its conscience. Perhaps, the one person who through her own suffering comes to understand the suffering of Ireland, and in her pain she unites the Guinness brand with the Irish people. 

Netflix’s portrayal of Anne Plunket (née Guinness) captures the quiet rebellion of a woman who had no seat at the table but refused to be voiceless. Historically, Anne used her inheritance to found St. Patrick’s Nursing Home in 1876 and dedicated her life to serving Dublin’s poor and sick, proving that legacy isn’t always measured in business shares.

Flaws That Become Strengths

Every great dynasty has shadows, and the Guinnesses were no exception. The show doesn’t shy away from addiction, loss, and betrayal, but it also doesn’t romanticize them.

We see Ben struggle with substance abuse, Arthur wrestle with loyalty versus profit, and Edward consumed by ambition. Yet, what stands out isn’t their dysfunction, it’s their resilience.

When one stumbles, another steps in. When one loses faith, the rest of the family rallies. That’s the heart of House of Guinness: the idea that flaws, when met with loyalty, become the very threads that strengthen the fabric. The siblings and other relatives never shy away from the opportunity to care and give to each other. While sometimes reluctantly, this constant self-giving for their own family is the building blocks of the House of Guinness. It is the strength and foundation of what makes this family and their business surpass many other enterprises. 

This idea and attitude is countercultural today. In a world that glorifies independence and “cutting ties” to see a family that endures, not because they’re perfect, but because they refuse to abandon each other is a wake up call for our times. 

Family as Strategy

Sir Benjamin’s will forces Arthur and Edward to co-own the brewery; a decision that fuels both conflict and greatness. Historically, this is true, Arthur sold his share to Edward in 1876, allowing Edward to become sole owner and expand Guinness into a global brand.

Meanwhile, Anne and her sisters-in-law use their influence for philanthropy and culture. The Guinness estates, from stately houses to charitable foundations, become more than displays of wealth; they’re laboratories for imagination, generosity, and beauty.

Netflix brings this to life with lush cinematography: candlelit dinners, clinking glasses, and whispered secrets, all set against the hum of a family thinking not in decades, but in centuries, or as the 9,000-year lease suggests, millenniums. 

In an era where most shows celebrate family dysfunction (Succession, The Perfect Couple, etc), House of Guinness dares to honor the opposite. It praises that messy and enduring thing called kinship.

Yes, the Guinnesses fight. Yes, they stumble. But they also forgive. They dream together. They protect the family name, not out of vanity, but duty.

And it’s addictive to watch, because deep down, we all crave what they have: a shared history, a dinner table that always has one more chair; a story, mission, and purpose that outlives us.

Lessons for Today

You don’t have to own a brewery or live in a castle to relate to the Guinness siblings; you just have to know what it’s like to wrestle with legacy, ambition, and love under the same roof.

The Guinness siblings fought, competed, and disagreed, but they also built, protected, and challenged each other. Their story reminds us that greatness rarely happens in isolation; it’s sharpened by proximity, by the sibling who questions your ideas or quietly pushes you to rise higher.

Today, in an age obsessed with independence and reinvention, the Guinness siblings offer a countercultural lesson: you can move forward without cutting ties. You can grow without erasing where you came from. Family doesn’t have to limit your identity; it can refine it.

Each of them found a different way to express the same shared inheritance of faith, vision, and responsibility. It’s a reminder that legacy isn’t something you receive; it’s something you interpret. And the way we interpret it—whether through business, creativity, or compassion—is what makes it ever present.

In a world that tells us to “go it alone,” the Guinness siblings whisper a soft truth: that sometimes, the people who know your worst can also be the ones who bring out your best. And that will make you rich in every sense of the word. 

History Meets Hope

There’s something quietly revolutionary about House of Guinness. Beneath the period costumes and scandal, there is a mirror that reflects what many of us long for: belonging.

Arthur Guinness brewed the beer. His descendants brewed the myth. And through Netflix’s retelling, we see that the real inheritance wasn’t the fortune, it was the faith that families, even flawed ones, can last.

Because the true wealth of the Guinness dynasty wasn’t in their barrels, it was in their bonds. 

The Legacy of Guinness

Today, Guinness is a global brand, but its story remains deeply human. It’s a reminder that family, with all its imperfections, is the most powerful business you’ll ever build.

When the credits roll and the last pint is poured, House of Guinness leaves you with a quiet ache, the kind that makes you want to call your siblings, forgive an old grudge, or sit down for a family meal, and perhaps start brainstorming new business ideas. 

Because in the end, the greatest inheritance isn’t money or fame; it’s the people who keep showing up, again and again, even when the world doesn’t.

And that’s a legacy worth toasting.