The $100trn battle for the world’s wealthiest people

The ber-richü hire all kinds of people to make their lives easier. Landscapers maintain gardens, housekeepers tidy homes, nannies raise children. Yet perhaps no role is as important as that of the wealth manager, who is hired to protect capital.These advisers are scattered across the globe in cities like Geneva and New York, and are employed as fiduciaries, meaning they are required to act in the interest of their clients. As such, they are privy to the intimate lives of the rich and famous, who must expose their secrets so advice may be offered on, say, the inheritance of a child born of an extramarital affair. Advisers also help families allocate investments, stash cash in boltholes, minimise tax bills, plan to retire, arrange to pass down wealth and satisfy unusual wishes. A Singapore-based manager recalls being told to invest a “double-digit” percentage of a family’s wealth in “bloodstock horses”—steeds bred especially for racing—a term he hurriedly looked up after the meeting.