001: PSA for my millennials and gen Z brothers and sisters
just doing my job, for the record, my bet for 2026
I’m not a private banker, nor a family advisor, nor a GP, nor a non-family single family office executive, nor a family business academic, nor an investigative reporter.
As a third generation millennial family member working at a Hong Kong based single family office and family foundation both established by my boomer family elders, however, part of my job is to develop a pipeline of these professionals.
Five years in, embedding myself in this ecosystem - I observe nothing bonds folks quite like gossip about wealthy families, anywhere from salacious rumours to succession sagas.
just doing my job
Some I can’t help being caught up in equal parts schadenfreude and morbid fascination: millennial heirs frittering away generational wealth, boomer patriarchs incentivizing infighting among family branches by awarding bounties for grandchildren.
Others I listen with far more empathy: millennial heirs struggling to earn their family’s respect no matter how hard they try, boomer patriarchs tidying up the mess their enthusiastically incompetent millennials constantly leave behind.
Still, some stories I feel there is something amiss: millennial heirs striking out on their own with so much success they refuse to get involved with the family business, boomer patriarchs deciding to die with zero or to wholly professionalize the family business with no intention of grooming successors within the family.
I know - these are purely first world problems.
for the record
So it felt hilariously hubristic to be invited to speak at a family business symposium hosted by one of the leading universities here in Hong Kong, back in November 2024.
I brushed my insecurities aside and thought to myself: what did I have to lose?
I feel empowered working for my family and compelled to reciprocate my family leaders’ trust by equipping myself with skills to manage our financial and human capital the best I can.
On 24 Jan 2025, I gave a TED talk style 25 minute sharing in front of almost 200 family principals, executives, and academics.
Boy would that create an unforgettable experience.
Not the talk itself, but what inevitably followed as I experienced in another 11 speaking gigs across Hong Kong, Beijing, London, and Los Angeles during the rest of 2025 when I delivered similar speeches.
Without fail, several strangers would come up to me and open up about themselves in ways I could never imagine.
Most were millennial and gen Zs resonating with my observations on working for our parents.
Some were family advisors and executives sharing about their journey of persuasion, facilitation, and sometimes, painful intervention.
Once, I had a boomer patriarch told me to spend time with his children convincing to go back to work for them. The nerve!
Slowly, these conversations culminated in a thought that just wouldn’t go away.
my bet for 2026
Imagine a platform built by, and exclusively for millennials and gen Zs from business families.
Imagine it hosting conversations on topics like:
how to utilise entrepreneurship, investment, and philanthropy as tools to build trust within business families
how to balance access to family resources and independence from family control
how to mitigate the corrosive effects of wealth
how to manage family expectations of your personal and professional life
how to overcome resentment, ennui, and other forms of emotional resistance in working with family
Imagine it helping millennials and gen Zs from business families
disentangle their families’ succession planning from their own quest for legitimacy;
know what it is that will make them truly feel at peace;
pursue it with all their heart, body, and soul;
support each other through accountability, encouragement, and unconditional acceptance
Now that’s a thought I intend to will into existence in 2026.