On a typical workday, Thierry Brunel might oversee the preparation of a prenuptial agreement and discuss financial best practices with a client's grandchild before lunch, saving the afternoon to vet potential private equity fund investments for his 20 ultrahigh-net-worth client families.
Such is life working as a chief investment strategist at a family office, the folksy-sounding term that describes firms that manage the wealth of the world's richest households. These companies are one-stop shops offering billion-dollar dynasties anything and everything they could need: tailored advice for charitable giving, investments, succession planning, tax planning, and settling intra-family financial and business disputes. Often, they also help manage multiple luxury homes, private aircraft, and yachts. Billionaires like Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Laurene Powell Jobs, the Pritzker family, and the Phipps family all have a family office.
