Every generation believes it knows what is best for the next. Parents worry when their children make choices different from their own. In business families, this gets amplified. Today, as many heirs to business legacies choose to manage family offices rather than directly running businesses, a familiar skepticism has emerged.
There are murmurs that the next generation is taking the easy way out—that instead of building businesses, they are choosing to invest, trade, and manage wealth. The assumption is that real work only happens on the factory floor, in corporate boardrooms, or while scaling tangible businesses.
Is this right? Or is it simply resistance to the unknown—a pattern we have seen before?
The doubts surrounding family offices today echo past resistance to changes in business. Ecommerce faced pushback; many were convinced customers would never trade traditional retail for online shopping. Within organizations, a transition to professional management over family-run decision-making was seen as a betrayal of legacy.
Some of today’s most celebrated successes were once dismissed. Motorcycles were deemed unsafe, the Indian Premier League was seen as a gimmick, and the iPhone was mocked for lacking a keyboard. Netflix, Tesla, and Airbnb all faced early predictions of failure—until they redefined their industries.
This is not to say that every change is automatically good—but simply that new paths deserve a chance before they are dismissed. The fear of the unknown often masks the potential for progress. Could family offices be at a similar inflection point? Is it a reimagining of the responsibility by the next gen, not necessarily a retreat?
Evolution of the family office
There was a time when family wealth was managed informally — invested back into the core business, parked in land, or lent within networks. Often, these investments lacked structure, transparency, and accountability, leading to disputes that stretched across generations.
Now family offices offer an alternative—one that is structured, professional, and forward-looking. While still nascent in India, globally family offices have evolved into far more than mere investment arms. They act as custodians of family legacy, ensuring values, vision, and governance structures remain intact. They manage philanthropy strategically, channeling wealth into long-term social impact initiatives. They handle legal and compliance matters, protecting assets from unnecessary disputes and liabilities. And they support entrepreneurship, funding both family-led and external ventures.
If done well, a family office does not just preserve wealth, it deploys it in ways that drive growth and impact.
Many next-gen leaders are making bold, strategic moves—modernizing businesses, investing in new industries, and ensuring their families’ wealth is managed effectively. They are not just preserving assets but deploying them intelligently.
It is easy to highlight the handful who take the easy route. It is also necessary to acknowledge those who are shaping industries, embracing technology, and driving change. The real question is not whether heirs run factories or manage investments, it is whether they are creating value.
Also read: 4 Tips for managing the succession challenge
Not us vs them
The debate is often framed as a generational divide, as if the senior and next generation are on the opposing sides, locked in a battle of tradition versus change. But this is not about us vs them, it is about “us.”
When the next generation succeeds, the entire family, the business, and the economy benefit. Their success ensures that wealth is not just preserved but strategically deployed, that businesses evolve rather than stagnate, and that the legacy of previous generations grows stronger.
And if they stumble? It is not failure—it is an opportunity to learn, adapt, and try again. Every generation has faced setbacks and found ways to rise stronger. The next generation must be given the same space to experiment, fail, and grow.
The senior generation’s role is not to resist change but to guide it wisely. Every great business family has adapted, whether by shifting from manufacturing to services, expanding from local to global markets, or transitioning from family-run operations to professional management.
Every new idea faces resistance before acceptance. Family offices may be misunderstood, or seen as the easy way out, but with the right support, they can drive economic growth, governance, and impact.
Rather than viewing the next generation as avoiding responsibility, can we see them as redefining it? Instead of dismissing them, let’s engage, mentor, and collaborate—because business is not about holding on to the past, but building the future.
Remember what Shah Rukh Khan’s character said in Chak De! India? “Mujhe states ke naam na sunai dete hain na dikhaai dete hain… sirf ek mulk ka naam sunai deta hai—India.” (I don’t hear the names of states… I only hear the name India.)
Let’s not hear senior generation vs next generation, or traditional businesses vs family offices. Let’s hear the echo of shared goals, continuity, success, and responsible stewardship of wealth.
Nupur Pavan Bang is Director-cum-Dean, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s Centre of Excellence, Hyderabad. Views are personal