The Musa family has refused to accept the prospect that its patriarch was corrupt, and took out a full-page ad in a newspaper denying the allegations.
And although the biggest group, Tata, will move beyond its family when its heirless fifth-generation patriarch retires in 2012, it is in no hurry to break itself up.
Mr Rüttgers sees himself as a Landesvater, a kindly patriarch of his sprawling state of 18m.
There is, however, another possibility: that Ratan Tata, Tata Group's modest but surprisingly bold patriarch, has got himself an extraordinary deal.
He was a very important person in my life and certainly the patriarch of the family.
Father, who thinks the world is a jungle, is an abusive patriarch; Mother shows her children the way of grace.
By no Western standards could the patriarch be described as an enlightened or reformist figure.
Only after he had taken his place at the podium, with the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in sight, did the television cameras show the "bridal" motorcade arriving.
The first public figure to address the Russian people was Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who is extremely active in all state matters.
The Maronites are the largest of the Christian groups. They have had a long and continuous association with the Catholic Church, but have their own patriarch, liturgy, and customs.
"This tower is my idea," the patriarch says in such a thick local accent that the interpreter needs an interpreter.
The patriarch was 72, and the French firm wanted to send someone of similar experience to talk to him.
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