Family Business Consultants Boom as $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer Fuels Succession Fights
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 30
Family Business Consultants Boom as $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer Fuels Succession Fights
5 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 30
$84 trillion is expected to pass between generations over the next two decades, driving a surge in demand for advisers who help wealthy families manage succession disputes and business control battles.
Consultants say the work has expanded from a niche into a fast-growing industry as family-run companies seek help with governance, inheritance planning and conflict resolution before disputes reach lawyers and courts.
Major firms including UBS and Boston Consulting Group are adding family-focused services, joining boutiques that market expertise blending mediation, therapy-style counseling and traditional business consulting.
Doug Baumoel built one such firm in 2003 after his own family's $60 million Long Island manufacturer was sold through the courts at a fraction of its value following a destructive succession fight.
As $84 trillion transfers, is the real threat to family legacy bad investments or unresolved family conflict?
Beyond financial literacy, what is the one skill heirs must master to successfully manage immense inherited wealth?