The wealth whisperers who save super-rich families from themselves

By Sophie Elmhirst

Marlene Engelhorn first understood that her family was wealthy when she noticed quite how much larger their house was than those of her childhood friends. “We called it a big house,” she told me. “But it’s a mansion for crying out loud. Call it what it is.” Growing up, her family’s financial adviser was such a constant presence that she thought he was her uncle. She didn’t know exactly how rich her family was, however, until she was 27, when she was told she would inherit a €25m ($26.3m) fortune from her grandmother. The money was no longer just part of the ambience, it was hers.