Rich But Not Crazy

Don’t let your family fortune go to the dogs. Preserving wealth for future generations doesn’t have to be fraught with drama. Ashok Soman gets the experts to weigh in on better ways to keep family and money together

- Ashok Soman

The wealthy in the 21st century are not like the kings, nobles and warlords of old. They aren’t sequestered from the general population, and don’t maintain elaborate protocols that one must master if one hopes to be a part of that world. One thing they certainly do is try to quietly preserve the legacy of their great wealth – the Shangs, Youngs and Leongs of the Crazy Rich Asians film and novel certainly do this. It is perhaps ironic that this practical touch is what distinguishes the story. It is certainly not the conspicuous consumption parable that its somewhat misleading title makes it out to be.

This is not to say that there isn’t pomp and circumstance, of course, but Singapore does not see such crazy affairs as the recent wedding of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal in Mumbai, India, speculated to cost US$100 million and which saw a performance by Beyonce, or tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter’s nuptials in 2004. That extravaganza cost a reported US$55 million and involved the Palace of Versailles – yes the palace-turned-museum of the French royals.

The excesses of those European royals in particular offer a lesson in what not to do if you want to sustain the family legacy for future generations. But the past also reveals surprising continuity in some instances, most notably in the example of the Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan. The world’s oldest hotel, it was established in 705CE and has been run by the same family since then. That’s 52 generations of founder Fujiwara Mahito’s family, which is a phenomenal achievement.