Most active investment firms of ultra-wealthy

A version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

Tech billionaire Eric Schmidt’s family office took the top spot in CNBC’s inaugural Inside Wealth Family Office 15 list, which ranks the most active U.S. family offices for dealmaking in 2025.

Schmidt’s family office, Hillspire, made 15 investments in 2025, most of them in artificial intelligence, according to exclusive data provided by private wealth intelligence platform Fintrx. The investments include a Paris-based AI voice startup, a fusion company and a software platform for luxury travel and experiences.

Other family offices that made the cut include Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions, Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital, Barry Sternlicht’s Jaws Estates Capital and Builders Vision, the family office and social-impact platform founded by Walmart heir Lukas Walton. 

The 15 family offices made over 120 investments combined last year, in sectors ranging from robotics and software to biotech, food and beverage, sports and blockchain.

The list, which ranks large, single-family offices by the number of publicly disclosed direct investments, offers a rare window into the deal activities of America’s richest billionaires and families. Family offices, the private investment firms of the ultra-wealthy, are exploding in size in number, expected to grow from 8,000 last year to more than 10,700 by 2030, according to Deloitte.

With over $3 trillion in assets, family offices are becoming a powerful force in mergers and acquisitions, startup funding and capital raises for private companies. They’re also increasingly coveted by Wall Street, with private banks, asset managers, private equity firms and even insurance companies all vying for their business.

Family offices aren’t required to disclose their assets or returns and remain fiercely private, often clouding deal activity in mystery.

All of the family offices on the CNBC’s list manage at least $1 billion in assets by Fintrx’s estimate. For the sake of the list, family offices are defined as investment vehicles or holding companies of a single family or individual that don’t manage money for outside investors.

“Family offices are intentionally opaque, so deal activity fills in the gaps,” said Russ D’Argento, founder and CEO of Fintrx. “Co-invest patterns, sector activity and repeat themes create a practical roadmap for understanding their priorities and how they deploy capital.”

The ranking is based on the number of direct investments made in 2025 for each family office listed on the Fintrx database, combined with added reporting by Inside Wealth. CNBC sought comment from firms listed and incorporated feedback where appropriate….