Yahoo Finance Sotheby’s launches exclusive to help the world’s richest buy trophy assets
Looking to buy an original Picasso, vintage Rolex, or maybe a £225m house just off Hyde Park?
Or maybe just interested in those who do?
Look no further: UK-based Sotheby’s International Realty has launched an exclusive new department for the world’s richest individuals to access off-the-market luxury assets.
Named the Family Office, it will give billionaire clients exclusive access to the world’s finest trophy real estate, fine art, jewellery and cars.
Clients will be able to buy and sell assets via The Office, as well as access financial services and “staffing solutions”.
It will operate as a one-stop-shop for Sotheby’s wealthiest clients, bringing together Sotheby’s International Realty, Sotheby’s Auction House, RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Financial Services.
Sotheby’s new arm will provide individuals with “preferential access” to “exceptional and unique global investment opportunities,” Sotheby’s said.
The Office will focus on creating “enduring value for [Sotheby’s] esteemed Ultra-High-Net-Worth global clients” as they aim to acquire “the world’s most coveted trophy real estate and luxury assets, not available through other sources or the open market,” George Azar, Chairman & CEO of UK Dubai and Saudi Arabia Sotheby’s International Realty said.
“[It] will be a bridge for [our] network and provide clients with senior-level expertise and a comprehensive understanding of global luxury markets, allowing us to provide a truly exceptional and bespoke service to our esteemed clientele, while unlocking global investment opportunities,” Marcus O’ Brien, Founder of The Family Office of UK Sotheby’s International Realty said.
This service will (in all likelihood) assist the market of 28,420 centi-millionaires and some 2,350 billionaires around the world.
These centimillionaires and billionaires are concentrated in 10 countries and 16 “key wealth cities”, according to Sotheby, which include London, Beijing, Dubai and Tokyo.
According to Knight Frank, the number of wealthy Brits rose last year, with the number of ultra-high net-worth individuals rising from 601,300 to 626,619.
Increases in the ranks of the super-rich will mainly come from millennials in the coming years, as wealth starts to cross generational boundaries – $90 trillion (£70tn) of assets are set to move between generations in the US alone in the next 20 years, making affluent millennials the richest generation in history.
That Hyde Park mansion is still probably out of reach for most of us, though.
