Candido Jacuzzi didn’t set out to turn his last name into a global brand. Nor did he intend to power a business which, though it created the family fortune, nearly tore them apart. He just wanted to ease the physical pain suffered by his son, any way he could.

The Jacuzzi — that vessel of bubbling water known and loved the world over — may now be geared for backyard socializing, a must-have for yachts, hotels and chalets, spring break parties and cruise liners, but its technology was conceived with just one person in mind: Kenneth Jacuzzi, a boy under 2 years old, stricken with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis after a severe case of strep throat.