Bloomberg Reports on the Growing Influence of Family Offices on Markets

Vyacheslav Dvornikov

Feb 11, 2025

In recent years, family offices have expanded their presence in global markets. They are increasingly engaging in buying individual companies, increasing activity in the secondary private equity market (for example, buying existing investor commitments to private equity funds) and in the real estate market. They even become activist investors, trying to change governance in public companies. 

The number of family offices has increased significantly over the past two decades due to the rapid growth of wealth in the technology, finance, and healthcare sectors. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, at least 100 of the world's 500 richest people have their own investment structures. The combined wealth of these billionaires exceeds $3.7 trillion. Among them are Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin and legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller. 

The growth of assets under management gives family offices the opportunity to make large deals. Here are just a few recent examples: 

• Blue Pool Capital, managing the wealth of Alibaba co-founder and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai, disclosed a deal on January 28 to acquire 12% in Italian luxury sneaker maker Golden Goose Group. 
• Three days later, the family office of the Brazilian Moreira Salles clan, whose wealth is estimated at $26 billion, announced that it was considering acquiring French packaging company Verallia SA, which caused its shares to rise by 20%.
• In early February, the family office of Chinh Chu, a Blackstone veteran, proposed a takeover deal for an Australian asset management company worth about $1.8 billion.

These deals confirm the trend: family offices are taking on risks at times when other investors prefer caution, writes Bloomberg. Since such structures manage funds for a small circle of investors, they can act more quickly than traditional institutional investors.

For example, Blue Pool Capital bet on Golden Goose as part of its strategy to diversify beyond the tech sector and find unique deals that can bring additional value. Meanwhile, the entire European luxury goods sector is currently experiencing a downturn, notes Bloomberg. The Italian company canceled its listing on the Milan Stock Exchange last year. Oliver Weisberg, a former Citadel executive who heads Blue Pool, will join the board of directors of Golden Goose. This highlights the role of family offices not only as sources of capital but also as strategic partners.

Despite their growing influence, family offices remain more secretive compared to traditional institutional investors. Blue Pool, which has been operating for over 10 years, still provides minimal information about its activities. Its website features only a sailboat on blue water — with no mentions of its investment portfolio.

Like many family offices, Blue Pool does not disclose the size of assets under management. However, the company's staff, which includes at least two dozen employees, including former analysts from KKR, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan, hints at a high level of professionalism and scale of operations, notes Bloomberg. Industry experts believe that wealthy individuals will increasingly entrust capital to professional investors, so the influence of family offices will become even greater.

Perhaps this trend indicates that large capitals view the risks of public stock and bond markets as too high and prefer to seek less liquid but more influential investments in corporate governance.