Asia's Heirs Hit Wealth Boot Camp Ahead of Record Inheritance

  • Private bank-run courses adapting to millennials’ demands
  • Asia’s aging tycoons are starting to pass wealth to heirs
People gather at Door XXV, a private club inside Golden Equator’s office in Singapore.Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

At the bank-run summer schools for heirs of some of Asia’s wealthiest families, visits to factories and shipyards are out; crash-courses in start-ups and impact investing are in.

In July, the Bank of Singapore, one of Asia’s largest private banks, hosted the children of some of its top clients at its GenINFINITY Program. Over five days at the Four Seasons Hotel they were taught the fundamentals of staying rich -- from the ABC’s of private equity to the rudiments of hedge fund investing. Evenings were spent networking at Michelin-starred restaurants and the city’s most exclusive bars.