The US$100 trillion battle for the world’s wealthiest people

THE uber-rich hire all kinds of people to make their lives easier. Landscapers maintain gardens, housekeepers tidy homes, nannies raise children. Yet perhaps no role is as important as that of the wealth manager, who is hired to protect capital.

These advisers are scattered across the globe in cities such as Geneva and New York, and are employed as fiduciaries, meaning they are required to act in the interest of their clients. As such, they become privy to the intimate lives of the rich and famous, who must expose their secrets so that advice may be offered on, say, the inheritance of a child born of an extramarital affair.

Advisers also help families allocate investments, stash cash in boltholes, minimise tax bills, plan for retirement, arrange to pass down their vast wealth and follow unusual wishes. A Singapore-based manager recalls being told to invest a “double-digit” percentage of a family’s wealth in “bloodstock horses” – steeds bred especially for racing – a term he hurriedly looked up after the meeting.