Inheritance isn’t just wealth. It’s governance

Family enterprises across the GCC have compounded wealth over decades of economic change, across borders and cycles. The harder question is one most founders avoid: what happens to everything they have built when they are no longer the ones making decisions.

After three decades in private banking, one pattern stands out for me. Families that navigate generational transitions successfully address governance before a crisis forces action. This is where the nature of leadership changes. When leadership transitions, what once relied on trust and proximity must become explicit: defined roles, documented authority, and clear accountability. In practice, governance matters more than the size of the estate. Independent expertise and structured decision-making frameworks introduce objectivity, reduce conflict, and enable continuity across geographies and generations.

That challenge becomes more visible at the point of transition. Successors inherit businesses they did not build, with cultures they did not set. These structures do not transfer on their own.

The implications of getting this wrong are measurable. Research by the DIFC Innovation Hub, Julius Baer, and Euroclear shows only 24% of high-net-worth individuals have a full estate plan. Estate taxes in key global markets can reach 30-40%. In practice, delay is less about complexity and more about inertia, with families relying on legacy structures without reassessing the regulatory and tax exposure. In many cases, action is only triggered externally by regulation, expansion, or liquidity events.

Momentum, however, is building. DIFC foundations grew from 671 to over 1,115 in 2025. Mashreq's partnership with DIFC provides a direct entry point, simplifying access and applying global standards to what has been an ad hoc process. At Mashreq, our approach has evolved toward a family-office model, acting as a facilitator rather than a decision-maker. McKinsey projects nearly USD 1 tn will transfer across generations in the GCC by 2030. Whether that transfer preserves what founders built depends on the frameworks families put in place before they are needed.

Vipul Kapur, Managing Director, Head of Private Banking, Mashreq