Successfully managing family wealth in the Middle East

Successfully managing family wealth in the Middle East

During these challenging and uncertain times, there is a greater need for multi-generational family businesses and family offices to provide reassurances to successors by ensuring continuity. Building a robust family governance framework can help ensure that your wealth—and your family's values—will continue to thrive.

In the Middle East, many family business patriarchs have multiple children. Choosing a successor is therefore a delicate challenge. There is also increased involvement of third-generation children in family businesses, each with different roles. Furthermore, an increase in female family members taking managerial roles in family businesses is also an important factor to take into consideration in succession planning.

Decisions such as when to involve third-generation family members, whether to include non-family members and managing the dynamics of second-to-fourth-generation involvement is quite tasking, which is why it is important to have clear and honest discussions.

Discussing wealth with children and other family members

While discussing wealth with children may feel like a sensitive topic to broach, the good news is that discussing your family's financial resources should not start—or end—with a dollar amount. Instead, talking to your children about your wealth can be a slowly unfolding process that gives family members a chance to explore what they want