Family office investment activity slowed sharply at the end of the year, even as younger heirs continued to pursue selective deals in areas such as healthcare and media.
According to data from Fintrx, private investment firms linked to ultra-wealthy families made just 35 direct investments in December, a year-on-year decline of roughly 62 %. The pullback capped a generally muted year for family office dealmaking, as uncertainty around tariffs and ongoing geopolitical tensions encouraged a more cautious stance.
This restraint contrasted with a busy close to the year on Wall Street, where advisers were occupied with high-profile transactions ranging from the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding battle to Trump Media’s multibillion-dollar merger involving a nuclear fusion business. Family offices, however, showed little urgency to finalise deals before year-end.
Despite the slowdown, millennial and Generation X heirs continued to shape investment activity through their family offices, often backing sectors unrelated to the businesses that created their family wealth.
Among the most active players was Motier Ventures, the family office founded by Guillaume Houzé, a fifth-generation heir to Galeries Lafayette. Known for its technology-focused strategy, Motier joined a €7.2 million seed round in December for blood-testing start-up Lucis.
A similar next-generation approach was evident in Italy, where Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, heir to the Luxottica eyewear fortune, acquired a 30% stake in right-wing newspaper Il Giornale via the newly formed media arm of his family office, LMDV Capital. Del Vecchio has publicly framed the investment less as a financial play and more as a civic project, aimed at rebuilding trust in journalism and reconnecting younger audiences with traditional media.
Historically, many ultra-high-net-worth families have used philanthropy as the primary way to involve younger generations. While that remains common, advisers say direct investing is increasingly being used to engage heirs, often with an emphasis on sustainability or social impact.
Scott Saslow, a family office consultant, notes that families are reframing capital as a tool for influence and responsibility rather than consumption, helping younger members connect wealth with purpose.
This shift is reflected in UBS’s latest family office survey. Just under a third of family offices expect next-generation members to participate directly in investment decisions, while 39% anticipate that heirs will take on active roles in managing investments overall.
