Everyone seems to have a different number for how many family offices exist worldwide. Estimates range from 3,500 to 20,000, depending on who you ask. Deloitte’s 2024 report pegs the number at 8,030, growing at 4.8% annually to reach 10,720 by 2030.
The Problem with Family Office Estimates
Here’s the thing: family offices are private, opaque, and don’t follow a one-size-fits-all model. This makes them incredibly hard to count.
- EY’s 2016 Family Office Guide estimated at least 10,000 family offices globally.
- Since then, estimates from Campden Wealth, IQ-EQ, UBS, Fintrx, With Intelligence, and KPMG have ranged from 3,500 to 20,000.
- Deloitte’s 2024 estimate of 8,030 family offices is one of the more precise figures, but even this is based on assumptions that might not hold up everywhere.
The root of the problem? There’s no standard definition of what a family office actually is. Some estimates focus on assets under management (AUM), using thresholds like 100 million 250 million. Others look at the number of employees, the range of services offered, or whether it’s a single-family office (SFO) or a multi-family office (MFO).
