Entrepreneurs create wealth - failed succession destroys it

Two-thirds of the wealthiest families globally are self-made (1), a proportion that continued to grow over the last decade at the expense of inherited wealth. This trend seems to be largely driven by accelerated wealth creation across the emerging markets, but also by a new generation of risk-taking entrepreneurs in fast-growing sectors such as technology.

Since the beginning of the year we took the view that, despite blustering rhetoric, the US-China trade dispute would be resolved within weeks of its initial deadline. Our optimism was grossly misplaced.

There are two certainties in economics. The first is that economic cycles exist: recessions eventually happen. The second is that economists are terrible at forecasting them. A recent study found that the IMF was able to forecast 5 out of nearly 470 past economic downturns.