Billionaire Behind $29 Billion Company Sale Moves to Build Family Office Into Institutional Investor

Ultra-wealthy families are turning their family offices into professional investment organizations. As fortunes swell after company sales and other liquidity events, demand is rising to manage investments, taxes and inheritance matters in-house rather than relying solely on external asset managers.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 1 that the family of Nathan "Natie" Kirsh, which agreed to sell food-service distributor Jetro Restaurant Depot to Sysco, is expanding its New York family office, KFO. The family plans to hire a chief investment officer as well as heads of public- and private-market investing, with the goal of managing most of its wealth directly.

Sysco's acquisition is valued at about $29 billion including debt. The company will pay $22 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter next year. The coming inflow of cash and stock has increased the need to upgrade the existing organization to the level of an institutional investor.

The push to expand family offices is part of a broader global trend. According to wealth data firm Altrata, the number of single-family offices serving just one family rose about 47% to 9,237 in 2025 from 6,269 in 2019.

Rapid gains in wealth at the very top have also fueled the shift. Federal Reserve data showed U.S. household wealth reached a record $185.7 trillion in the second quarter of this year. The share held by the top 0.1% of households rose to 15% from 13.5% five years earlier.

More business owners are also setting up separate investment organizations after selling their companies. Oil entrepreneur Autry Stephens founded SGF Capital after selling his business for $26 billion. The Mills family, which sold a stake in medical-supplies distributor Medline for more than $30 billion, also runs multiple family offices.

The Kirsh family plans to change its investment structure so its internal team sets overall asset allocation and long-term strategy while supervising outside managers. As family offices evolve beyond simple wealth-management operations into de facto institutional investors, governance and organizational management are becoming increasingly important alongside investment expertise.