Where do we go from here? Ideas about wealth and wealthy people will doubtless evolve further over time, but what will drive that evolution? If shiſt ing conversations and behaviours around wealth hint at the direction of travel, what can – or should – wealthy people and their advisers do to respond to them?
ANNASTASIA SEEBOHM
CEO of the Brilliant Minds Foundation and former global CEO of luxury concierge service Quintessentially
We are witnessing a wheel of change with a growing raft of disruptors. In recent times the crypto industry has flourished on a global scale, providing extraordinary returns and creating as many as 100,000 bitcoin millionaires alone. The behaviour patterns of this new class of millionaire are yet to unfold. The fintech sector and art world are also experiencing substantial changes, potentially generating new millionaires. We must remain hopeful that global issues resonate and cause these people to support worthwhile initiatives. I feel everyone should try and play a role in creating a better future for all.
ANDY COULSON
Former News of the World editor and Downing Street communications director, now founder of PR advisory fi rm Coulson Partners
Like the Victorian industrialist philanthropists of two centuries ago – Rowntree, Peabody, Cadbury, Carnegie, Tate – we’ll see wealthy people in the future drive huge innovation. As our more activist, discerning and socially aware younger generations grow up, there’ll be an even greater expectation that those with wealth must make positive change – not just through charity, but in business and for our planet. The resources they control and the partnerships they can catalyse between different sectors and geographies mean the wealthy of the future will face demands to deliver progress for us all. However one might view the Bezos/Musk rocket race, it has undoubtedly accelerated the accessibility of space beyond state-sponsored endeavours. But aspiring philanthropists beware. Just as we are now seeing a 21st-century lens – and rear-view mirror judgement – applied to historic wealth creation, wealth generators of the future will be subjected to even greater scrutiny. It will matter more not just how you spend your money, but how you made it. And to be on the right side of that judgement before wealth is achieved requires you to see round corners. The heated debate won’t be about whether your statue is taken down, but whether it should ever be put up in the first place.
