Joining a number of the world’s wealthiest individuals—such as James Dyson, Sergey Brin, and Li Ka-Shing—in setting up an office in Singapore is India’s Mukesh Ambani, whose net worth is a cool US$86.6 billion (S$124 billion).
Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s most valuable company. He is the second-richest man in Asia, after billionaire tycoon Gautam Shantilal Adani, who is also from India.
A family office is a private wealth management firm that caters to ultra-high-net-worth individuals — people who have $1 million or more in liquid financial assets.
Such firms manage the investments and finances of well-heeled individuals or families and offer consultancy services on varied aspects of finance including taxes, insurance, donations, and wealth transfer.
There are single-family offices, as well as those that serve multiple clients.
Ambani’s plan to open such an office in Singapore was reported by Bloomberg on Friday (Oct 7), citing people familiar with the move.
Real estate for the office has already been chosen, and a manager for staffing and starting the entity has also been hired.
Multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited, which was co-founded by Ambani’s father in the 1960s and has its headquarters in Mumbai, handles multiple businesses in the energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles fields.
He joined the company in 1981, and through reliance, owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians as well. He is also the founder of the Indian Super League, a football league, and is listed in Forbes as one of the wealthiest sports owners around the globe.
Welcome to the club
It was reported early last year that Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose net worth is US$ 82.2 billion (S$118 billion) was opening a branch of his family office in Singapore to manage his wealth.
Brin is currently ranked the eighth-richest man in the world, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index.
Just this May, it was reported that Li Ka-Shing, the richest person in Hong Kong, would open an office in Singapore as well. His net worth is said to be US$33.1 billion (S$47.4 billion).
Li operates the largest health and beauty retailer in Europe and Asia and is the leading port investor in the world. Horizons Ventures, Li’s private investment firm, was to open a new Singapore office, the first to be established outside Hong Kong.
UK inventor Sir James Dyson’s company, Weybourne Group Ltd., also set up a family office in 2019, the same year he paid a whopping S$78 million on one unit at the top of the tallest building in Singapore, Guoco Tower. Mr Dyson’s net worth is estimated at US$7.1 billion (S$10.2 billion).
Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio (net worth US$19.1 billion, or S$27.4 billion), the founder of Bridgewater Associates, also opened a family office in Singapore, Bloomberg reported in November 2020. /TISG
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