Family Capital Blog

On family office, wealth structures, and how great fortunes were built

Table of Contents

Every post in the blog: the series first, then the other posts by section, then an index by country.

Series: Family Office from Scratch

  1. What Is a Family Office: 5 Questions to Ask Before You Create One
  2. Single Family Office vs. Multi Family Office
  3. How Much Does a Family Office Cost to Run
  4. Holding Structures in Plain English
  5. Five Common Mistakes in Managing Family Wealth

Series: John D. Rockefeller in 5 posts

  1. History: How a Traveling Peddler's Son Laid the Foundation of an Empire
  2. Accounting: 39 Drops of Solder and a Barrel of His Own
  3. Strategy: Own the Bottleneck, Not the Product
  4. M&A: The Cleveland Massacre, 22 of 26 Competitors in One Season
  5. Capital: Railroad Rebates and the Leverage of Volume

Series: Aristotle Onassis in 5 posts

  1. History: From a Burning Smyrna to a Night Switchboard in Buenos Aires
  2. Accounting: Cost per Ton, Bigger Ships, Smaller Crews, Offshore Structures
  3. Strategy: Buying at the Bottom, Then Betting on Bigger Tankers
  4. M&A: Taking Control of Monte Carlo, and Losing It
  5. Capital: The Charter as Collateral

Explainers

  1. How the Henkel Family Kept Control for 150 Years: The Share-Pooling Agreement (Germany)
  2. Who Really Controlled Voltaire? A Sawiris-Linked Fraud Trial in London (Egypt, United Kingdom)
  3. How the Arnaults Plan to Lock In Control of LVMH: The Partnership Limited by Shares (France)

Dynasties & Deals

  1. Who Runs the Castel Empire? A Fund, Two Trustees and a Hired CEO (France, Singapore)
  2. Paying a Court Award Without Losing the Company: Inside SK Chairman Chey Tae-won's Share Sale (South Korea)
  3. How the Getty Family Is Taking Getty Images Back Through Bankruptcy (United States)
  4. New World Development: A $3.6 Billion Loss and a Family That Keeps Control (Hong Kong)
  5. The Oatleys Buy Back Rosemount, 25 Years After Selling It (Australia)
  6. Oryx Energies: A Founder Sells His African Fuel Business to Its Managers (Switzerland, Senegal)
  7. Five Slims on One List: How Mexico's Richest Family Shares Power (Mexico)
  8. An Italian Family Office Cashes Out: B.group Sells iSMA Controlli to IMI (Italy)
  9. Malaysia's King Buys a Stake in a Rare Earths Miner (Malaysia, Singapore)
  10. From Tech Shares to Somerset Farmland: Koos Bekker and The Newt (South Africa, United Kingdom)
  11. When Charities Own the Company: The Tata Trusts and Tata Sons (India)
  12. The Ambani Heirs Take Jio to Market: Raising Money Without Losing Control (India)
  13. A Chanel Owner Opens a Swiss Family Office: What a Second Office Can Signal (France, Switzerland, United States)
  14. Why a Canadian Family Is Buying Boots for $8.9 Billion (Canada, United Kingdom)
  15. Larry Ellison's Pledged Oracle Shares and His Son's $110 Billion Hollywood Deal (United States)
  16. Eight Heirs, One Holding: How the Del Vecchio Family Votes on Italy's Banks (Italy, Luxembourg)
  17. Who Owns the Family Firm? The TVS Succession Dispute (India)
  18. A Listing Three Layers Deep: Airtel Money Goes Public in London (India, United Kingdom)

Tax & Rules

  1. A ₩2.6 Trillion Gift: How Samsung's Heir Is Collecting His Mother's Shares (South Korea)
  2. Switzerland's New Beneficial-Ownership Register: Who Must Report and Who Can Look (Switzerland)
  3. Malaysia Opens Its Zero-Tax Family Office Zone to Multi-Family Offices (Malaysia, Singapore)
  4. Luxembourg's Draft Budget Doubles the Holding Period for Tax-Free Gains (Luxembourg)
  5. China's 20% Tax on Offshore Trusts, Explained (China, Hong Kong, Singapore)
  6. Should Business Heirs Pay Inheritance Tax? Germany's Top Court Takes the Case (Germany)
  7. France Wants Gifts of Holding Shares to Stop Erasing Deferred Tax (France)
  8. Hungary's Draft Wealth Tax: Why Trusts and Foundations Are Caught Too (Hungary)
  9. France Weighs a 2% Yearly Tax on Family Holding Portfolios (France)
  10. California's Billionaire Tax: What Prop 40 Would Do and Who Is Fighting It (United States)

From History

  1. Andrónico Luksic at 100: A Ford Dealership, a Lucky Mine Sale and Two Holdings (Chile)
  2. From Steel to Vermeer: The Thyssen Collection Goes Back to The Hague (Netherlands, Spain, Germany)
  3. The 90% Tax: Japan's One-Time Capital Levy of 1946 (Japan)
  4. Iba Teigo: The Hired Manager Who Saved Sumitomo, Then Left on Time (Japan)

Data & Research

  1. America's Oldest Families Are Now Its Richest: The Fed's 2025 Survey (United States)
  2. Who Pays the Heir's Tax Bill? Korean Dividends After a Handover (South Korea)
  3. Most Wealthy Families Aren't Ready to Hand Over. Here's the Data (United States)

By country

Europe: France 5, Greece 5, United Kingdom 4, Germany 3, Switzerland 3, Italy 2, Luxembourg 2, Hungary 1, Monaco 1, Netherlands 1, Spain 1, Turkey 1

Americas: United States 13, Canada 2, Argentina 1, Chile 1, Mexico 1

Asia: India 4, Singapore 4, South Korea 3, Hong Kong 2, Japan 2, Malaysia 2, China 1

Africa: Egypt 1, Senegal 1, South Africa 1

Oceania: Australia 1

Each future billionaire gets the same 5 categories, so readers can compare them side by side.