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 high-net-worth investors and consumers. become a member to receive future editions straight to your inbox.

Tech billionaire Eric Schmidt’s family office earned the top spot on CNBC’s inaugural Inside Wealth Family Office 15 list, which ranks the U.S. family offices most active in deal-making in 2025.

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

Other family offices making 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 a total of more than 120 investments last year in sectors ranging from robotics and software to biotechnology, 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 activity of America’s richest billionaires and their families. The number of family offices, which are private investment firms of the ultra-rich, is growing rapidly and is expected to rise from 8,000 last year to more than 10,700 by 2030, according to Deloitte.

With assets exceeding $3 trillion, family offices are becoming a powerful force in mergers and acquisitions, startup financing, and capital raisings for private companies. They are also increasingly coveted by Wall Street, as private banks, asset managers, private equity firms and even insurance companies compete for their business.

Family offices are not required to disclose their assets or returns and remain highly private, often clouding their deal activities with mystery.

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

“Family offices are intentionally opaque, so deal activity fills the gaps,” said Russ D’Argento, founder and CEO of Fintrx. “Co-investment models, sector activities and recurring themes create a practical road map for understanding their priorities and how they allocate capital.”

The ranking is based on the number of direct investments made in 2025 for each family office listed in the Fintrx database and additional reporting from Inside Wealth. CNBC sought comment from listed companies and provided feedback where appropriate. About half declined to comment.

The list does not include investment amounts and may not include all deals or all family offices as they are not required to disclose their investments. Fintrx’s team of researchers compiles data from public and private sources. Real estate investments were not taken into account in determining the ranking.

The dominant investment theme of 2025 was artificial intelligence. In a recent survey JPMorgan65% of family offices cited AI as their top investment priority, far outpacing all other sectors. AI, technology and software (which includes broader AI business) account for more than a third of all deals announced by family offices on CNBC’s list. The healthcare sector was the second largest sector, followed by biotechnology.

Schmidt’s spending spree on artificial intelligence reflects his influence on public opinion as a technology evangelist. Former Google The CEO co-wrote “The Age of Artificial Intelligence,” a popular book on artificial intelligence, with Henry Kissinger, and funded the Private Competitive Studies Project, an artificial intelligence-focused nonprofit. In a speech at Harvard in December, Schmidt said artificial intelligence’s ability to “discover new facts” and learn on its own could be just four years away.

Last year, Hillspire invested in Reflection AI, a startup founded by two former Google DeepMind researchers that aims to be an open-source alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as Gradium, a Paris-based company born out of French AI lab Kyutai that develops AI voices that respond almost instantly.

Hillspire also invested in Peek, a software provider and marketplace for travel and experiences that has also attracted investments from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Kayak founder Paul English.

In second place in terms of announced deal activity in 2025 is the family office of Jeff Bezos, the world’s fifth richest man, worth $234 billion, according to Bloomberg. Bezos Expeditions has backed Uncommon AI, which aims to create a more energy-efficient AI computer. He has also invested in OpenAI and Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, as well as Physical Intelligence, a robotics startup.

One of Bezos’ few non-AI investments last year was Arrived, a trading platform that allows investors to buy shares of rental homes for as little as $100. sales force CEO Marc Benioff is also an investor. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

For third place in the Family Office 15 was a tie between the family offices of hedge fund veteran Jim Pallotta and investor-philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Pallotta’s Boston-based Raptor Group invests heavily in electronics and software. Its bets include smart tag tracking company Reelables; MatrixSpace, a radar technology company; and digital game studio Emptyvessel. Pallotta also invested in DryWater, which produces an electrolyte and vitamin powder drink mix.

Powell Jobs founded Emerson Collective as an investment and philanthropic platform to advance issues like women’s health through a variety of approaches. Emerson is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence, but focuses on how the technology can better help humanity. Bezos invested in Expeditions and Humans&, which aims to be a “human-centered” artificial intelligence startup. Nvidia. Emerson also backed Chai Discovery, which uses artificial intelligence for drug discovery and counts General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures as investors.

Many of the family offices on CNBC’s list were founded by first-generation wealth creators who made their fortunes in technology or finance. Many started family offices as the second act of their careers and as a way to help companies grow in the industries where they first built their fortunes.

But a growing number of family offices are controlled by a new generation more focused on impact investing.

39-year-old Walton Walmart his heir created Builders Vision, a multibillion-dollar financing machine that powers philanthropy and startups aimed at improving the world.

“What we’re doing here is challenging,” Walton told CNBC in 2022. “We are trying to connect cultures from philanthropy to impact investing to venture capitalists, not to mention public markets and capital managers.”

Last year, Builders Vision launched a number of companies including Cream Co. Meats has invested in several sustainable food and agriculture companies, including OoNee Sea Urchin Ranch and Coral Vita. It has also supported sustainability initiatives such as Firefly Green Fuels, which produces clean aviation fuel from sewage.