Stories
Indian Heirs Ditch Family Businesses for Family Offices, Worrying Elders
- •Younger generations of wealthy Indian families are increasingly selling stakes in traditional businesses to manage wealth through family offices, a shift from dynastic enterprise.
- •Alok Sanghi, 42, sold his family's cement business stake and now manages a $100 million family office, investing in real estate, sports, and startups.
- •This trend is sparking debate, with elders like Uday Kotak lamenting that scions are 'taking the easy way out' instead of creating 'real-world businesses.'
- •The rise of family offices, from 45 in 2018 to over 300 in 2024, reflects a desire for wealth diversification and a departure from the factory floor.
- •Some heirs argue that investing broadly through family offices can seed more startups and support other Indian entrepreneurs, with many engaging in venture capital.
Key Questions Answered
Many younger heirs are choosing to cash out, take their inheritance, and manage wealth through family offices because they are bored of traditional family businesses and want to avoid working on the factory floor. This shift allows them to de-couple family fortunes from single operating enterprises and invest more broadly in startups and alternative assets.
After his family sold a majority stake in their cements business to Gautam Adani's Ambuja Cements Ltd. in 2023, Alok Sanghi shifted to overseeing a luxury real estate business in Dubai, a professional volleyball team, and a handful of startups. He also actively trades in private, public, and commodities markets through a family office with $100 million in assets under management.
Prominent figures like billionaire Uday Kotak have lamented that many rich heirs are taking the easy way out by running family offices and trading financial assets rather than creating real-world businesses. While older entrepreneurs note that the challenge has shifted from first-generation founders letting go of power to encouraging the next generation to take over, others warn that moving away from dynastic enterprises risks losing traditional industrial legacies.
