Only 36% of the Indian business families in a new study by Grant Thornton Bharat and Entrust Family Office have a clear, documented succession plan. Another 42% say the family broadly agrees on succession but has not put it in writing. The study, shared exclusively with Business Standard and reported on 18 October 2026, is based on conversations with about 50 families worth roughly ₹100 crore to ₹10,000 crore (₹1 billion to ₹100 billion). These are far smaller fortunes than those on our list of India’s richest families, where the tenth, the Hinduja family, is put at USD 21.2 billion by Forbes. Strikingly, the second generation, not the founders, is the least likely to involve its own heirs.
What the Grant Thornton and Entrust study found
From the report’s summary page and Business Standard:
- Succession: 36% have a documented plan, 42% broad alignment without documents, 16% ongoing discussions without clarity, and 6% do not see succession as a priority.
- Next-generation influence: heirs already have meaningful influence or co-lead specific areas in 36% of first-generation families, 18% of second-generation and 54% of third-generation ones. They are not involved at all in 18%, 36% and 8% respectively.
- One pool of capital: 68% said today’s custodians are more likely than earlier generations to look at family wealth as a whole.
- Family offices: the most common trigger for setting one up (24%) was a deliberate shift from running the core business to a diversified portfolio, ahead of major liquidity events (21%).
- A hypothetical $1 billion: about a third of first-generation participants, and a majority of second-generation ones, would put it into Indian listed shares and fixed income. Nearly half of third-generation families preferred strategic acquisitions and controlling stakes.
“The next generation is not simply inheriting wealth; it is inheriting responsibility,” said Pallavi Joshi Bakhru, partner and family office leader at Grant Thornton Bharat.
Why the second generation stands out
The report does not explain the dip; this is our reading. A founder’s children often run the business side by side, and keeping peace among siblings can crowd out room for their own children. Third-generation families that stayed together have often had to write rules, and they are survivors: the ones that got that far. Agreements hold only while everyone reads them the same way, even written ones, as the reported TVS family dispute over who owns what shows.
For comparison, about a quarter of North American family offices have a documented plan, according to the RBC and Campden succession data. A handbook by India’s 360 ONE Wealth, reported by Business Today on 1 October, says 57% of family offices have a wealth succession plan but only 35% have one for the office itself. The move from operator to investor shows in offices such as Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran.
A fair caveat
This is about 50 families in qualitative interviews, not a statistical survey. Each generation group is a slice of that sample, so one family can move a percentage by several points. Grant Thornton’s page gives no sample size, and we could not open the full report. The comparisons above use different samples and questions.
What to watch
- Whether the full report shows how many families sit in each generation group.
- Whether the 42% with unwritten agreements move to documented plans.
- Whether second-generation leaders step back: 46% expect to move into a strategic or board-level role within four to five years, the summary page says.
