dubai

The population of ultra-high net worth individuals in Africa is growing at a faster pace than any other region in the world, except Asia. According to the 2021 Knight Frank Wealth Report, Africa is expected to see a five-year ultra-wealth growth rate of 33% to reach close to 4,400 individuals by 2026. A lot of that wealth will be created by entrepreneurs.

The most common stereotype about the next-gen members of a family business is that they are arrogant and overconfident and expect everything to come easily to them. But the reality is that these Gen Y and Z members become overwhelmed with self-doubt over joining the family business.

Tests faced by wealthy family businesses in the Gulf are usually related to a stock market crash, loss of an investment or, at worst, the sudden death of the family patriarch. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a new and unprecedented challenge.

When the outbreak was announced the immediate concern for wealthy families, or private clients as we refer to, was the health and safety of the family patriarch since they were now of an advanced age which placed them in the vulnerable and high-risk category.

Your family is in need of some downtime, but with a splash of glamour. So where do you go? And how are our luxury escapes changing? Alison Ebbage speaks to Philippe Brown, founder of bespoke travel planners Brown and Hudson