On a sweat-laced evening in June, while much of Hong Kong dug into supper, two dozen students snaked their way past ginseng dispensaries and tailor shops to the third floor of an office tower to be schooled in finance’s hottest trend.
The cohort was a white-collar jumble — some were private bankers with gym bags, others primly-dressed accountants. They’d come to study the ABCs of family offices — firms dedicated to managing enormous, secretive pools of generational wealth: from the perils of working for politically exposed persons to soft skills covering the vagaries of Swiss watches and fine art.
The night classes are part of a global race taking place from Singapore to Miami and Lausanne as governments fight to attract booming family office businesses, especially from Asia. With residency, luxe living and low taxes mere table-stakes, the availability of trained staff to help the ultra-rich run their lives and their money has become a key battleground. Trillions of investment dollars and top jobs that sometimes pay $1 million or more are up for grabs.
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