The latest installment of an annual survey by the Wharton Global Family Alliance finds, among other noteworthy observations, that “more than half (57.5%) of the families in [the] 2011 sample are involved in operating a family business in addition to the wealth that is managed by their SFO [single family office]. This represents a 2.5% increase compared to 2009, which suggests an increase in family involvement in operating businesses. Such a trend is also corroborated by the increasing percent of family wealth tied to operating businesses controlled by the family, which shows an increase from 18.3% in 2007 to 34.4% in 2011.” The survey had 106 participants from 24 countries.
The Wharton Global Family Alliance is a unit of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School that focuses on wealthy families and their businesses.