SINGAPORE has seen a boom in family offices. The number of investment vehicles that oversee assets exclusively for the benefit of a single ultra-rich household has risen 22 times over the past five years, thanks to liberal tax exemptions. But what have the wealthy brought to the table?

The short answer: Very little. The assets of those who claim these fiscal sops made up barely 2 per cent of the US$4 trillion managed in the Asian city-state in 2021, and their linkages with its economy are practically non-existent.

While opposition lawmakers would love to blame the uber-affluent foreigners for some of the property-market froth and high cost of living, the reality is that no family office has done a local residential-property transaction in the past six years, a government minister informed Parliament in May.