Sir Anthony Ritossa and his team welcomed an esteemed group of global families, private investors, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs to the 17th Global Family Office Investment Summit held December 12-14 at Dubai’s Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah Under the High Patronage of The Ministry of Economy in the presence of Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE.
The Dubai Summit provided a close-knit group of international presenting partners with introductions to possible funding, exceptional networking, partnership opportunities, and co-investment ideas during two and a half days of exchanges in a private, closed-door environment. Prestigious family offices, private investors, sheikhs, royal families, and leading businesses from 55+ countries representing more than $4.5 trillion in wealth comprised the Summit Family Office delegations and reports confirm over $2.6 billion in new funding resulting from the most recent five events.
“The Summit included inspiring conversations on timely topics and investment opportunities that matter to today’s visionary world leaders and next-generation heirs to the world’s largest fortunes. Our Summit attendees are powerful individuals who live life on their terms and are committed to the relentless pursuit of new ideas with the potential to have a positive impact on our world. Collectively, we are building a universe focused on global cooperation and sustainability,” said Sir Anthony Ritossa, Chairman of Ritossa Family Office.
Among the Summit highlights were sessions on leadership secrets based on personal experiences, family governance, food security, cryptocurrency/DeFi/blockchain, technology, healthcare, natural medicine, real estate, FinTech, philanthropy, education, branded real estate, natural medicine, environment, energy, alternative investments, SpaceTech, and transportation. Trust, commitment, power, respect, transformation, vision, and responsibility are essential themes around which the group shared ideas.
Key discussion points included:
The UAE Leads the World in Connectivity & Innovation: Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi opened the event with commentary on the UAE’s prominence and connectivity in shipping, blockchain, technology, e-commerce, global trading, and more. Change is evident as the UAE expands as a leading business hub. As a family business hub, the region provides strong government support through FDI (foreign direct investment) initiatives. The number of start-ups and unicorns in the UAE is impressive due to strong government support, including new funding pools and immediate investment opportunities.
Reorienting Capital to Serve Humanity: The UAE is an ideal model for the world with the vision and strategy to take humanity to a new level during the uncertain time we now live in. Anything is possible in the UAE as the region continues to make a meaningful impact, ensure safety, provide vital employment opportunities, encourage respect among all people, provide top healthcare and medical system, and promote a bright future. Individuals are only on the planet for a short time, and their legacy is what they do while they are alive.Decentralization of the Cloud Sector.
Decentralization of the Cloud Sector: Today, people are more connected and want to know that their activity is confidential and protected by cloud providers. Cloud computing will soon reach a $1T market cap, and cryptocurrency is a value-add that supports new ways to process data following users’ wishes. A decentralized cloud system makes it fair and transparent for everyone.
Elite Investor Insights: Today’s leading family office investors are excited and pragmatic about innovation and the ability of brands and partnerships to solve challenges while doing good work. Companies do well when they do good. Investors need to be agile, flexible, robust and insist on risk mitigation and strong governance. NextGen investors seek to invest better and improve philanthropic decision making via conscious capitalism, ESG and stakeholder alignment. Family offices have a contrarian time horizon, and a global-minded shift to supporting unicorns is evident.
The Monetary Revolution & Cryptocurrency: The UAE is opening new avenues for investing in Defi, NFTs and cryptocurrency, such as new vehicles that do not require changes to existing investment mandates. Examples of industries disrupted by blockchain innovation are gaming, social media, and the supply chain. The Metaverse Economy represents the future and is the next step in communication. By next year, predictions call for 20 million metaverse users.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Technology has the power to solve human problems. A.I. and ML are being applied across sectors and industries as new ways to re-invent and re-design the way they operate and help them to make the world a better place. For example, A.I. can read human vitals to improve healthcare, create tax returns, power smart cities and intelligent contracts, and help companies reach customers better with the information they need at the right time. Disclosures and ethics are essential A.I. considerations, and A.I. requires continuous education as it is integrated into our lives.
The UAE’s Innovation: In-country investing is popular with some family offices that increasingly seek businesses to invest in that are defensive to another health pandemic, for example. Other sectors of interest in the UAE include pharmaceuticals, packaging and e-commerce, logistics, tourism, and hospitality projects like Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Development focused on luxury and sustainability and food and agriculture. Visit 2030 in the KSA represents an important initiative with $1 trillion in infrastructure underway and $3 trillion planned. The UAE’s leading families are astute investors who are relationship-driven.
The Future of Education: Sustaining a healthy family business requires talent management and education beginning at a young age. The family must understand and clarify its goals and then set goals while recognizing that the human factor drives financial success. Families should combine education with mentorship and practical experience. Since there will inevitably be conflicts at some point, it is essential to put in place a problem-solving approach to avoid eventual disintegration. Key themes are the alignment of purpose, advocacy for keeping the family together, leveraging the family brand, and giving meaning to family goals.
Harnessing Nature’s Power for Better Health: During the past year’s pandemic, attention has focused more than ever on the importance of natural healing, healthcare, and plant-based medicine. New technologies and products have tremendous potential to heal human bodies in support of optimal health. Sustainable methods of producing novel new options such as plant-based seafood, hemp and natural medicines protect the body.
