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Forget Swiss banks and secret vaults. For today’s ultra-wealthy, the real power move is not hiding your money, it is shaping your legacy.
Enter the family office, a private headquarters for dynasties, where the real business of wealth happens quietly behind the scenes.
It is not just a wealth manager. Think of it as a personal command center, part HR department, part investment firm and part family therapist. It is where succession plans are drafted, assets are preserved and, ideally, future generations are spared from inheritance-induced implosions.
“A family office is basically a tool,” says Kamal Fikri, partner at Assegaf Hamzah & Partners, who specializes in dispute resolution and family clients.
“It’s a system that helps manage assets, preserve wealth and handle the day-to-day operations of ultra-high net worth individuals.”
In Asia, family offices are booming. And while the Ambanis and Waltons might be the poster families, it is no longer an exclusive club. According to a 2023 report by KPMG Private Enterprise and Agreus, 9 percent of global family offices are now based in Asia, primarily in Singapore, Hong Kong and India.
Indonesia? We are late to the game, but stirring.
The Hartono Family Office already manages an estimated Rp 346.8 trillion (US$21.1 billion) in assets. And in March, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan confirmed that his team had been setting up a family office, a nod to the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-era ambition of turning Indonesia into a wealth management hub.
Yes, while most of us are stuck debating generational trauma, they are busy figuring out how to safeguard generational wealth.
So the question is not if Indonesia’s ultra-rich will start setting up family offices, it is whether they will keep doing it abroad, or whether the country can make a case for keeping that wealth at home.
Headquarters of a dynasty
At its core, a family office is about building a structure that outlives any one founder.
“The priority is sustainable wealth management across generations,” says Margie Margaret, PwC Indonesia’s Family Office Leader.
“While the operating company focuses on business growth, the family office handles succession planning and governance.”
Consider Jeff Bezos. While he explores space, his family office, Bezos Expeditions, quietly manages his $221.4 billion down here on Earth.
Or Cascade Investments, which handles the personal and philanthropic wealth of Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda. Or Joseph C. Tsai’s Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital, which manages Japanese real estate, American sports franchises and a social justice fund in New York.
The top goals, according to PwC’s 2023 survey, are fairly consistent: generate dividends for family members, protect the operating business and cement a lasting legacy.
But first, the ground rules.
Before a family can manage wealth across generations, they need some form of agreement, a family constitution, a shareholders’ pact or at the very least, a written understanding of who’s in charge.
“Regardless of how much wealth you have, families need to agree on how things are done, including around succession or estate planning,” says Kamal.
Family office gone wrong
Without structure, legacy quickly turns into liability. Kamal notes that most wealth breakups come down to poor communication, planning and governance.
The Vanderbilt family is the classic cautionary tale: They built railroads across the US, only to see their wealth dissolved by the sixth generation. Money bled out through bad investments, lavish lifestyles and inheritance battles.
By the time Anderson Cooper came around, his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, made it clear: “There’s no trust fund.”
Even in families with money, silence about money can be the biggest risk.
In Indonesia, this culture of silence is one of the biggest roadblocks to effective family offices.
Among first-generation business founders, inheritance talk is often taboo. They would rather avoid awkward conversations, even if it risks eroding everything they have built.
“Families that already have a written constitution are usually in their second generation,” says Marcel Irawan, PwC Indonesia’s entrepreneurial and private business leader.
“They’re more focused on sustainability.”
And then there is the external hurdle: Indonesia still lacks the infrastructure and incentives that make Singapore and Hong Kong more attractive destinations for family offices. The legal frameworks are clearer, tax regimes more favorable and financial services more robust elsewhere.
Where legacy meets leverage
Still, Indonesia is trying to make its case.
Former tourism and creative economy minister Sandiaga Uno floated big numbers in 2023, projecting that if the country plays its cards right, it could attract up to Rp 8 quadrillion in wealth management.
That might sound like wishful thinking, but Indonesia does have leverage. Not just in profit, but in purpose.
According to Marcel, Indonesia’s pitch comes down to three things: green energy, tourism and philanthropy.
First, there is our natural wealth. Forests, geothermal energy, wind and solar, plenty of potential for legacy-minded investments.
Second, lifestyle hubs.
“Bali could offer more appeal than Singapore or Hong Kong,” Marcel notes.
And third, impact. As a developing country, Indonesia offers a chance to make meaningful change. Philanthropy here does not just feel good, it does good.
“Family offices have an angle of philanthropy,” Marcel explains. “If the next generation wants to run one in Indonesia, it’s different from what they’d do in Singapore.”
Take the Sampoerna family. Through the Putera Sampoerna Foundation, the tobacco dynasty has funded education and economic development initiatives nationwide.
“While the operating company focuses on business growth, the family office handles succession planning and governance.” - Margie Margaret
Most single-family offices in Indonesia operate under holding companies or foundations, since specific tax incentives don’t yet exist. But the model is still evolving.
Indonesia’s homework
If Indonesia wants to attract more family offices, it has to fix the basics.
“Indonesia needs to offer economic and political stability, and legal certainty,” Marcel says.
“To be honest, it’s a reputation issue. We also need a tax regime with the right incentives, plus easier visa access.”
Should those boxes be ticked, family offices could be more than financial hubs. They could fund local causes, steer the nation’s next wave of growth and shape legacies.
The Hartono brothers are a case in point: From tobacco to electronics, banking and real estate, they have built an empire that funds both their wealth and their charitable efforts in education, redefining how they will be remembered.
Family offices may manage billions, but their real power lies in shaping what survives beyond the balance sheet. So whether they become command centers for dynasties or vehicles for change will depend on how Indonesia’s elite define wealth and what they want their legacy to be.
And if you are one of the ultra-rich? The question is not whether to build your dynasty or build your country. It is: Why not both?
