About 65,000 Americans are worth $100 million or more. Only about 5.5% of them have a formal single family office, according to Modus, drawing on Deloitte's estimate of 3,550 single family offices in North America. The rest still have family office needs. Someone pays the bills, tracks the trusts and handles the taxes; usually it's staff at the family's company.
The family office you already have
For most business owners, the "family office" is the company CFO who also watches the owner's personal accounts, an executive assistant who runs three homes, and a company accountant who reconciles personal credit cards. It works until it doesn't:
- Company and family information get mixed. Employees see personal wealth they don't need to see.
- Tax and accounting lines blur when personal expenses run through the business.
- The knowledge leaves with the person. When the CFO retires or the company is sold, no one knows where everything is.
- No one owns the whole picture. Trusts, properties, investments and taxes sit with different advisers.
Signs it's time for a dedicated hire
- You're planning to sell the business or have just sold it.
- Your company staff spend real time on personal matters.
- You have several trusts, entities or properties and no single view of them.
- Your next generation is taking on more responsibility.
- Your tax preparer asks for the same documents every year and still waits on them.
Who to hire first
| Hire | What they own | Base salary (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Personal controller | The family's books, bills, tax coordination and reporting across entities and trusts | $150K–$205K |
| Chief of staff | Priorities, projects, properties, household staff and advisers | $130K–$210K |
| Executive assistant | Calendars, travel, correspondence and personal logistics | $75K–$130K |
| Accountant or bookkeeper | Day-to-day transactions, reconciliations and bill pay | $80K–$125K |
Our estimates for families with under $250M managed in-house. See the salary guide for other sizes and locations.
Three ways to set it up
| Setup | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded | Dedicated family staff sit inside your company but report to you, with separate systems and confidentiality | Owners still running the business |
| Virtual | One or two people coordinate outside accountants, attorneys and advisers | Families with simple needs or after a sale |
| Formal family office | A separate company with its own staff | Families with several hundred million or more, or complex needs |
How we help
We start with a conversation about what's handled today and by whom, then recommend the smallest team that covers it. We run a confidential search, background-check every finalist, and help set up the role so it stays separate from the company. When you're ready for a formal office, we help you build it.
Questions from business owners
Do I need a family office?
Not necessarily. A formal single family office usually makes sense only at several hundred million dollars or more. Many families worth $100 million or more get most of the benefit from one or two dedicated hires.
What is an embedded family office?
Staff inside a family's operating company who also manage the owner's personal finances, trusts, properties and household. It's the most common setup for business owners.
Should personal finances be handled by company staff?
It works, but it mixes company and family information, can blur tax and accounting lines, and leaves the family exposed when those people leave or the business is sold. A dedicated personal hire keeps them separate.
Who should my first personal hire be?
Usually a personal controller to own the family's books, bills, tax coordination and reporting, or a chief of staff to manage projects, properties and people. Many families start with one and add the other.
What happens to my company's staff when I sell the business?
Often they go with the buyer, and the family loses everyone who knew its personal finances. Hiring dedicated family staff before a sale avoids that gap.
Are candidates background-checked?
Yes. Every finalist passes a third-party background screen with their consent before you meet them.