Wayne Enterprises a few questions

[Bamf25]

I am just trying to understand a few things about Wayne Enterprises.

1. If Bruce now runs Wayne enterprises, who ran the company when his father was alive? His father was a doctor and to me seems to have done little to run the company other than charity functions.
2. What is Wayne enterprises primary business?
3. Has it been explained how the Wayne family built its fortune?

[Attila the Hun]

1. Yup, his dad was working as a doctor, but that time I don't think his board of executives cared abouth that really. No serious company run by just one man, even if he is the main shareholder. The fact that Bruce taking over the everyday business in the company only counts as he could decide what are the new directives or ways for the company to operate on. He still cannot have all the time in the world sitting in a meeting with the trustees, and thats all right.
2. Just like the Koch brothers. They are involved in everything. I mean everything as the actual writer want it (like the Snyder retcon in the annual, with the cryogenetics).
3. You shouldn't need much imagination figuring that out too. As the Kanes and the Cobblepotts - mostly investing heavily into real estate, industrial facilities and stock trade.

[MadDog1981]

Bruce probably isn't that involved in the day to day operations of the company. He's more of a public figurehead and does charity events and such. Lucius Fox is the guy that does the heavy lifting as far as the company goes. I imagine Thomas Wayne had a similar setup when he was alive.

[Mr. Holmes]

This is covered pretty well in Batman Begins. The whole "We'll be watching the empire for when you grow up."

[Mat001]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Enterprises

[cactusmaac]

Is that Wiki summary current? I can't remember any Miss Wells from the comics.

Wayne Enterprises typically does anything a story requires it to do i.e. it's involved in agribusiness if a particular writer wants to involve Batman in solving a crime that has something to do with food.

In one of the background pieces in the comics it stated Wayne Enterprises' activity was primarily centred on Waynetech, a high-tech company and from it's ownership of most of Gotham's prime downtown real estate. That makes more sense than it being a conglomerate since those went out of style in the 80s. Even Koch Industries is primarily focused on the petroleum business and it's off-shoots.

[bat39]

Wayne Enterprises was also, at least at one point, heavily involved in scientific research for military purposes...which is how Bruce acquired a lot of his Batman gear.

[Mat001]

Yes, until Bruce shut it down since he doesn't like weapons of war.