An Introduction To 'Wealth Office': Exploring The Role Of Wealth At Moments Of Global Change

Marco Poon joins Michael Macfarlane for a Wealth Office conversation exploring what family offices are really for, and whether the industry built around them has drifted too far from the families it is supposed to serve. With an estimated US$450 trillion held by private families globally, family offices are becoming an increasingly important part of the wealth landscape. But Marco argues that the incentives of large financial institutions can sit uneasily alongside the priorities of families thinking about governance, succession, philanthropy and wealth across generations. The conversation begins with a fundamental question: should a family office be structured around investment performance, or around the long-term objectives of the family itself? Marco draws on his own experience as a third-generation member of a Hong Kong business family, where his focus has shifted from the family’s original manufacturing interests towards investment, governance and preserving the entrepreneurial spirit for future generations. They examine why families with 100 or 200-year horizons may think about risk very differently from institutions operating around market cycles, and why stewardship, geopolitical change and experience can matter more than conventional definitions of “safe” assets. They also look at Hong Kong’s growing family office ecosystem, where families are increasingly learning directly from one another on governance, succession, education and the challenges of preparing the next generation. The discussion explores: • What a family office is really for • Why institutional incentives can conflict with family objectives • Stewardship versus short-term investment performance • How wealthy families define risk over 100 or 200 years • Why governance and succession matter as much as portfolios • The role of philanthropy in family identity and values • Why Hong Kong has become a hub for family-to-family learning • How next-generation family members should be prepared for responsibility • Why entrepreneurship can be part of succession planning • The role of private family capital in backing long-term innovation • Why China’s progress in AI, automation, new energy and EVs matters for investors • How fiduciary advice can create greater alignment between families and advisers The central question is what it actually means to preserve family wealth across generations. The answer is not simply protecting a portfolio. It is preparing people, building governance, preserving values and making sure each generation is capable of taking responsibility for what comes next. 🎥 Watch the full conversation to explore the private world of ultra-prime property and what it reveals about wealth, family and the future of global cities. Subscribe to Wealth Office for more conversations hosted by Michael Macfarlane with entrepreneurs, investors, family businesses and global thinkers exploring how wealth is shaping the future.

Super-prime real estate experts Gary Hersham and Irina Gamagina join Michael Macfarlane ‪ @michaelmacfarlane-mma for a Wealth Office X conversation exploring what property means when money is no longer the primary constraint. At the very top of the market, real estate is about far more than housing. It can offer privacy, security, capital preservation and a place for internationally mobile families to build their lives. The conversation begins with a hypothetical question: if Michael had $100 million to spend on a home, where should he buy? Gary and Irina examine London’s position as a global safe haven, the growing appeal of Madrid, Milan, Zurich and Miami, and what the movement of wealthy families reveals about the changing geography of global capital. They also offer a rare look inside the ultra-prime market. Despite the mythology surrounding secret listings and dramatic bidding wars, transactions at this level remain grounded in trusted relationships, discretion and careful judgment. Emotion may begin the process, but valuation, taxation, ownership structures and long-term suitability still shape the final decision. The discussion explores: • What ultra-prime property is really for • Whether London remains a global safe haven • How wealthy families choose where to live • The reality of “off-market” property • Trust and reputation in private transactions • Emotion, status and price discipline • New wealth versus inherited wealth • The influence of technology, crypto and Asian capital • Why younger buyers increasingly prefer modern homes • The importance of family, schools, privacy and lifestyle • What an experienced property adviser truly provides The central question is what wealthy families are actually acquiring when they purchase an extraordinary home. The answer is rarely square footage alone. They are choosing where their children will grow up, where their capital may feel secure and how their family will live across generations. 🎥 Watch the full conversation to explore the private world of ultra-prime property and what it reveals about wealth, family and the future of global cities. Subscribe to Wealth Office for more conversations hosted by Michael Macfarlane with entrepreneurs, investors, family businesses and global thinkers exploring how wealth is shaping the future.

Maryann Selfe is the author of The Billion Dollar Blindspot, a book about one of the most overlooked problems in modern healthcare: the historic failure of medicine to properly account for female biology. In this episode of Wealth Office, Maryann joins Michael Macfarlane @michaelmacfarlane-mma to discuss why women’s healthcare may be one of the most important investment themes of the coming decades. For much of modern medical history, male biology was treated as the default human model. Women were often underrepresented or excluded from clinical trials, medical research and drug development. The result was a major healthcare data gap affecting diagnosis, treatment, therapeutics, insurance, reimbursement and capital allocation. Maryann argues that this blindspot is now beginning to correct - and that the correction could create a major opportunity for healthcare investors, private capital, family offices and long-duration capital allocators. Michael and Maryann discuss why areas such as menopause, endometriosis, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, fertility, diagnostics, therapeutics and preventive healthcare are becoming increasingly important investment categories. They also explore the role of private capital and family offices in funding the next generation of healthcare innovation. Many of the opportunities in women’s healthcare and personalised medicine sit in private markets, where long-duration capital may be better suited than traditional short-cycle venture capital or institutional funds. A major theme of the episode is the role of Asian capital. As family offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and across Asia become more global, there may be a significant opportunity for Asian private capital to back healthcare innovation emerging from Europe, the US and Asia itself. The conversation also connects women’s healthcare to wider trends in longevity, AI diagnostics, drug discovery, sex-specific therapeutics and preventive medicine. Maryann argues that understanding female biology better will not only improve healthcare for women, but could help build more personalised healthcare for everyone. Topics discussed include: The thesis behind The Billion Dollar Blindspot* Why male biology became the default model in medicine The history of women’s exclusion from clinical trials The female health data gap Why women’s healthcare has been underfunded How data gaps affect insurance, reimbursement and investment Why women’s health is becoming a serious healthcare investment theme The rise of personalised medicine and sex-specific healthcare Menopause, endometriosis, autoimmune disease and cardiovascular health Why women live longer but often spend more years in poor health The economic and productivity cost of poor female healthcare Why private capital and family offices may be well placed to invest The opportunity for Asian long-duration capital Healthcare innovation in Europe, the US and Asia AI diagnostics, therapeutics and longevity medicine Why women’s healthcare is not a niche market How better female health data could improve healthcare for all The central question of the episode is whether investors are beginning to reprice women’s healthcare in real time. If Maryann Selfe is right, the historic blindspot in women’s healthcare is not only a medical problem. It is a structural market inefficiency, a social challenge and a major investment opportunity.

What is art really worth - and who really controls the secondary art market? In this episode of Wealth Office X, Michael Macfarlane ‪@michaelmacfarlane-mma‬ is joined by Catherine Freeman and Bigna Pfenninger, co-founders of FP13, for a conversation about art, power and the financialisation of culture. The secondary art market is often misunderstood. It is not simply a resale market for old works or dead artists. It is a living system in which value is shaped by belief, scarcity, institutional credibility, collectors, dealers, advisors, taste, timing and the stories that surround an artist’s work. In that sense, the art market reveals something quietly uncomfortable about value itself: that markets are never purely rational. They are also social systems, built on trust, legitimacy and collective belief. Together, Catherine and Bigna explore how artists develop secondary markets, why many never do, and how collectors, galleries, auction houses and institutions help determine which works become culturally and financially significant. They discuss blue-chip art, trophy works, private sales, freeports, art lending, fractional ownership, tokenisation and the growing role of art within family wealth, estate planning and long-term capital structures. The conversation also looks at a deeper shift in collecting itself. As Western next-generation wealth holders break up inherited collections, Asian collectors become more influential, and younger buyers demand participation, transparency and meaning, the secondary art market is entering a new phase. Topics include: • What the secondary art market actually is • Why living artists can already have secondary markets • How collectors and institutions create legitimacy • Why the primary market creates visibility, but the secondary market creates value • The Damien Hirst auction and what happens when hype outruns belief • Charles Saatchi, patronage and the making of cultural movements • Why sophisticated collectors behave differently from superficial collectors • How blue-chip art became a store of value • The rise of art-secured lending and financialised collections • Freeports, private sales and the hidden architecture of major art transactions • Tokenisation, fractional ownership and the future infrastructure of collecting • Why art remains an expression of civilisation, memory and human purpose At its core, this is a conversation about more than art as an asset class. It is about who gets to decide what culture is worth - and how beauty, belief, power and capital combine to shape the market for human expression. Wealth Office X explores the defining ideas, technologies and capital flows shaping the future of wealth. Each episode brings world-class experts into focused conversation around one major theme, helping long-term capital allocators understand complexity, test assumptions and form conviction in a changing world.

Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of The Sovereign Group and Founder of The Sovereign Art Foundation, joins Michael Macfarlane for a discussion on why some entrepreneurs believe philanthropy should be approached less like charitable spending and more like building systems capable of compounding impact across generations. For decades, philanthropy has largely been measured by how much money is given away. But Howard argues that this may be the wrong question. Drawing on his experience building both a global professional services business and an international charitable foundation, he explains why entrepreneurial thinking, long-term incentives and multiplier effects can often create far greater societal outcomes than traditional donation models alone. Rather than simply funding causes, the most effective philanthropy may increasingly resemble infrastructure, investment and systems design. The conversation explores: • Why entrepreneurs often approach philanthropy differently from institutions • How multiplier effects can dramatically increase social impact • Why building sustainable systems may matter more than writing larger cheques • The role of private capital in solving societal challenges • How the Sovereign Art Foundation uses art as a platform for charitable impact • Why art therapy has transformed the lives of vulnerable children across Asia • The rise of Asia and its growing influence on global wealth, philanthropy and long-term thinking • Why culture, creativity and artistic ecosystems are essential components of civilisation itself A major theme throughout the discussion is the role of art and culture in long-term civilisation building. Howard argues that some of the most important philanthropy is not simply about solving immediate problems, but about preserving cultural memory, supporting creative ecosystems and underwriting the institutions that shape how societies think, create and understand themselves across generations. In that sense, art may function not merely as aesthetic expression, but as legacy, identity and long-duration societal infrastructure. At its core, this episode is about a deeper idea: That the most effective forms of wealth creation are not always measured by what is accumulated, but by the systems, opportunities and multiplier effects left behind. 🎥 Watch the full conversation to explore how entrepreneurship, philanthropy, art and private capital intersect — and why building sustainable impact may become one of the defining challenges of the century. If you enjoy conversations like this, subscribe to Wealth Office for more discussions with entrepreneurs, investors, family businesses and global thinkers exploring how wealth shapes the future.