Protecting Wealth and Family
These pages explain how families can put people, rules, and review around wealth. Richard C. Wilson says choosing a family office starts with defining the service a family needs, then comparing providers, meeting their teams, and checking how they have served clients. In his governance talk, he calls the board an internal watchdog that keeps decisions aligned with responsibilities to clients. He says oversight can cover routine choices and leadership changes.
Wilson also says families should assess what a proposal includes, how the other party earns money, and whether the plan includes more than needed. A family office investor with experience marketing funds and doing due diligence says AI can process records, but people still need to examine fraud signals, a manager's background, and how a firm operates. Van Carlson says 831(b) plans may help some businesses fund selected risks and build reserves for deductibles, disputes, supply chain problems, or cyber losses, depending on the business and plan. Pooled claims can affect the plan.
Start with the interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Never chase a deal out of desperation. Stay cool and look at every part of the deal. Have your advisers and your finance team review it critically. Your counsel should review it too.
- Igor Olenicoff: Work hard and save. The family arrived with very little. They knew it would take hard work and saving money to succeed.
- Anu Aga: Focus on one main cause. Her family found its giving more satisfying and impactful once it chose primary education for the underprivileged in India.
Videos
- Choosing Advisers for a Family Office: A practical guide to matching family office service providers with the work they need to do.
- Family Office Mistakes That Can Cost Millions: A review of family office choices that can erode wealth, from investment decisions to deal terms.
- How a Family Office Investor Evaluates Fund Managers: See how one family office investor assessed trading records, manager skill, portfolio fit and a fund's ability to operate.
- Van on 831(b) Plans and Business Risk: Van describes 831(b) plans as one way to fund risks a business may retain.
- Family Office Governance: Rules, Oversight and Accountability: See how Wilson describes governance boards, internal controls and leadership oversight in a family office.
- Direct Investing Contracts and Agreements: A guide to the paperwork investors may encounter when investing directly in a private company.
- Family Office Mistakes in Direct Investing and Wealth Stewardship: Richard C. Wilson explains common family office mistakes and the systems he uses to keep investment and team decisions on track.
- How to Select and Hire a Family Office: Richard C. Wilson outlines what to clarify and examine when choosing a family office.
- How a Tech Executive Built a Family Office Through Real Estate: A tech executive turned investor explains his systems, hiring approach, private lending and borrower diligence.
- Richard C. Wilson on What a Family Office Does: Learn how Richard C. Wilson defines a family office and why he says wealthier families may need dedicated financial support.
- Richard C. Wilson on Health as Part of Wealth Planning: How Richard connects health choices with the capacity to manage wealth.
- Larry Namer on Building E. Entertainment Television: Larry Namer shares how he hires, drops projects and responds to changes in media and technology.
- Hidden Risks Inside a Single-Family Office: Richard C. Wilson describes three risks that can disrupt a single-family office and the controls he says families should consider.
Questions answered
- How can wealthy families protect an estate from fraud?: Require another person to witness will changes, review checkbooks and checks, and keep employees from writing checks.
- How do business owners use 831(b) plans to fund business risks?: Van Carlson says some businesses may be able to expense premiums at the operating company and use pre-tax dollars to fund selected risks, depending on the busin