India’s billionaires are making moves and this time, it’s out of Asia.
Last month, Mukesh Ambani became the latest billionaire to move his Family Office to Singapore, joining the likes of Sergey Brin, Li Ka-Shing, James Dyson and Ray Dalio who with a collective net worth of more than $140BN decided that the Garden City was the number one destination for Family Offices.
Now, the one man with more wealth in the Asia-Pacific than Ambani is looking outside of Asia to home his wealth.
Gautam Adani is said to be looking at New York or Dubai to host his wealth. An announcement which comes some weeks on from his public shaming of China.
Adani had recently claimed that China would ‘feel increasingly isolated’ and find it hard to bounce back from a period of economic weakness, homing in on a continuing conversation about the status of China as a global power.
He said: “Increasing nationalism, supply chain risk mitigation and technology restrictions” would impact China’s global role and it seems his trust in Asia as a Family Office hub is clearly spreading as he looks to the USA and Middle East for alternative options.
The potential move comes amid a $58 billion surge in Adani’s personal wealth according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It also reflects the tycoon and his family’s increasingly global ambitions, as the Adani Group makes significant overseas acquisitions beyond its traditional stronghold in India.
With an older brother in Dubai and a push from the Middle Eastern governments to welcome Family Offices from overseas, there is a strong chance that Adani will select Dubai as the home for his wealth but New York is certainly tough competition for any Family Office destination.
From the Morgan’s to the Rockefeller’s, New York has always played home to some of the world’s most renown, wealthy and influential families. It’s where the term Family Office was first coined in 1838 and its high density of investment firms, banks and financial talent have kept New York in prime position amongst Family Office leaders. They claim its high quality of living, physical location and time zone make it both accessible and attractive for trade and opportunity.
New York was voted as the top Family Office jurisdiction by 28% of Family Office Leaders in an Agreus survey followed closely by 24% who voted for Singapore, 19% who claimed it was London and 12% who ranked Geneva as the number one home for Family Offices. Other answers given did indeed include Dubai but with Asia out of the equation and New York top of the list, will it win over Adani’s heart?
New York has always been favoured for its rich talent pool and colourful array of professional services but with state taxes and work-life balance becoming more and more important to both professionals and the Family Offices they serve, will Dubai’s tax-free way of living and government incentives for overseas wealthy investors make it an offer too hard to resist?