More than half of today’s family offices were incorporated after 2010

Family offices have been increasing their allocations to private credit

Private firms that manage family fortunes have been investing more in alternatives like venture capital and real estate, impacting the wider financial world.

It’s estimated there are 10,000 single-family and 5,000 multifamily offices globally

Family offices are expanding around the world at a rapid pace, impacting the wider financial landscape.

Family offices are estimated to manage more assets globally than hedge funds

As baby boomers prepare to transfer more than $84T in assets to the next generation over the next 20 years, family offices’ impact is expanding.

The origins of modern family offices date back to the 1500s

Wealth management for families with massive fortunes has evolved over the centuries, with the Rockefellers establishing the first single-family office in 1882.

Family offices’ estimated wealth is expected to hit $9.5T by 2030

The number of family offices, and how much money under their management, is growing rapidly both in the US and around the world.

More than half of family offices have succession plans in place

The UBS annual report on family offices found that its clients are preparing for trade wars, generative AI, and generational wealth transfers.

Family offices have a median of $476M in managed assets

There are several types of family offices that cater to ultra-high net worth individuals, starting with single-family offices that cost an average of $3.2M annually.

The average pay for family office executives has soared

As the number of family offices grows, they’re battling for top talent with traditional financial institutions by bulking up pay and incentive packages.

More than 2,000 family offices operate in Singapore

The “Switzerland of Asia,” Singapore, is a haven for global wealth and has attracted a growing number of family offices to set up shop there.

The collapse of Archegos Capital Management drew scrutiny to family offices

Archegos, which managed the assets of Bill Hwang, wasn’t subject to the same oversight as traditional investment firms when it collapsed.

Less than a third of wealth transfers to the second generation

Just 12% of family wealth reaches the third generation, and 3% makes it to the fourth. Family offices work to prevent that kind of attrition and ensure family fortunes are passed to the next generation.

Nearly half of billionaires plan to increase exposure to direct private equity investments in 2026

In a global survey administered by the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), 49% of billionaires plan to continue investing in companies by providing direct access to capital. However, only 37% of billionaires plan to increase their investments in private equity funds.

Family CEOs tend to prioritize a non-economic goal: keeping the business in the family

Companies led by family CEOs tend to prioritize corporate social responsibility, but they also tend to invest less in innovation and international growth. They also have more debt on average.

The alternative investments industry is expected to grow significantly in the coming years

More specifically, as of 2024, the alternative investments industry was expected to grow to more than $24T in assets in 2028—up from roughly $15T in 2022.

Roughly 10% of US apartments were owned by private equity firms as of 2025

Almost half of those apartments were purchased after 2021. However, local community groups across the country are experimenting with ways to put residential and commercial real estate in the hands of community members.

ETFs are rising in popularity

While less than half of retail investors hold ETFs in their portfolio, this figure is up dramatically in recent years, and experts forecast continued adoption as more options hit the market and total ETF assets under management continue to grow.

Not all alternative investments are easy to invest in

For instance, some alternative investments are only available to accredited investors or high-net-worth individuals. Others have relatively high fees compared to traditional investments.

Cheap debt and relatively minimal regulation fueled private equity's expansion

Low interest rates in the 2010s made taking on debt cheap, making leveraged buyouts incredibly lucrative. Private equity firms were able to make large deals quickly, in part because they don't face the same disclosure requirements and shareholder approval processes as public companies. These two factors juiced the growth of private funds.

Fintech relies on technology, not physical location, to serve financial customers

Most of the industry's prominent players were created since 2010, and are still in a growth phase. These institutions have broadly disrupted traditional banking and have pushed physical banking locations toward obsolescence.

80% of a VC firm's returns come from 20% of the deals, per VC's 'power law'

Early-stage startups are highly risky investments. Many companies in a VC portfolio will not provide any significant return.

A hedge funds timeline, from the 1940s onward

Since Alfred Winslow Jones formed the first hedge fund in 1949, traders have rolled out an increasingly complex array of investment strategies. They all aim to beat increasingly efficient markets and/or to provide ample downside protection against sell-offs.

The number of illiquid millionaire households is increasing

"Illiquid" refers to the increasing number of millionaire households who have most of their net worth tied up in housing and retirement accounts.

It has historically been tough for minorities to rise through the ranks in investment banking

According to a Barron’s article, only about 1.3% of the $69T asset management business is managed by firms led by women or minorities—even if their performance is comparable to those led by white men.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

How couples today manage their finances

In relationships, shared bank accounts used to be the default. Not anymore. Many couples maintain separate finances for practical reasons or to retain greater independence, though many couples experience trust issues as a result. This article checks in on the status of relationship finances and highlights, among other insights, how attitudes toward money are often determined by family history.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Activist investors use large ownership positions to influence companies

By holding large ownership positions, which often come with leveraged access to a company's board or the ability to force a shareholder vote, activist shareholders can change a company's corporate governance, leadership, and overall direction. Critics argue that activist shareholders hurt companies in the long term by prioritizing short-term higher shareholder returns over sustainability and growth efforts.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.