Family offices have existed for centuries. The past 10 to 15 years have seen a modern resurgence and reinvention, bringing thousands of family offices to a heightened stature, rivaling private equity funds, venture funds, hedge funds, and corporate conglomerates.

But what precisely is a family office—or, as some call it, a “family enterprise”? Family offices are private investment organizations for high-net-worth families, often founded by individuals who saw opportunities where others did not.From there, these visionaries built large, industry-defining businesses employing the core family members along with outside managers and overseers, and all of it controlled by the family of the original entrepreneur(s). Family offices and their merchant banking concerns have been dominant players in driving the growth of the companies that have defined our world for generations, and this tradition continues.

The Rise and Slide of Family Offices