With the end of the year upon us, there is no better time to reflect on the events – and people – who have shaped the last 12 months. Here at Spear’s towers, that means revisiting the 2023 Spear’s Power List – the inaugural edition of an index that acknowledges the people who shape the world of private wealth and the lives of wealthy people.
When Spear’s began publishing its lists, rankings and indices, the aim was clear: to help the magazine’s HNW readers find the expert advisers and specialist service-providers who were right for them.
That meant focusing on the professionals who spend their days dealing directly with HNW clients – after all, the reputation of a wealth management or law firm has little value to a client who is lumbered with a less-than-capabale representative.
But the 2023 Spear’s Power List showcases the figures who wield power behind the scenes whose everyday work does not centre around client relationships.
It was with this thought in mind that Spear’s unveiled its inaugural Power List – our selection of the 100 most influential people in the world of private wealth. (Although, like Spear’s itself, this list combines its international outlook with a British bias.)
Who is included in the 2023 Spear’s Power List?
We included several billionaires, though not ‘because they are rich’. Such choices have been made, as in all cases, because of the influence they exert, whether this is Bernard Arnault – who is not only the richest man in the world but also shapes the lives and experiences of so many other wealthy people through his vast LVMH empire – or Sir Chris Hohn and Alex Gerko, whose committed philanthropy and other activities are setting an example that other UK-based entrepreneurs are starting to follow.
Look beyond these familiar names and you will discover something else too.
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The list also includes the rule-makers, powerbrokers, decision-takers, landowners, connectors and executives who make the world of wealth go round. Some of these rarely get a second glance from what one might call ‘the mainstream media’. And yet the consequences of their actions, tastes and even their friendships have a significant impact.
Each of the 100 individuals in the 2023 Spear’s Power List appears in the table below; click on the links to read more at spears500.com.
Has a particularly influential, powerful (and relevant) person been omitted from the 2023 Spear's Power List? You can write to Spear's editor-in-chief Edwin Smith (edwin.smith@spearswms.com) to let him know.
