Family-office gold rush spurs conference craze

As the rich have gotten richer, family offices have exploded in popularity, numbering 8,000 worldwide and managing some $3.1 trillion in assets, according to Deloitte. Family office-tailored events and conferences have followed. 

There were 123 such family-office conferences in 2024, and nearly twice as many — 244 — are scheduled for this year, according to Dakota Marketplace, a research firm for investment sales professionals. 

“People are interested in this world because it’s growing so fast, and it’s a pool of capital,” said Paul Carbone, co-founder and vice chairman of Pritzker Private Capital and a member of the steering committee for a family-office initiative at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The initiative hosts gatherings for family…