How Family Offices in Chile are Leading the Charge on Climate Action, Conservation and Luxury Tourism
How Family Offices in Chile are Leading the Charge on Climate Action, Conservation and Luxury Tourism
By Francesca Bridgewater FCIM, European Editor for Andes Wines
According to the recent Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse, Chile is home to 67,000 millionaires with 1,655 ranking among the world’s top 10% wealthiest and 80 securing a place in the top 1% [Source: La Tercera]. Expanding this view to Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia and Mexico, South America stands out as a natural magnet for investments managed by multi-generational family offices and business holdings. These entities, often of French, Spanish, Italian, German, Croatian and Asian descent, have been established since the 1600s and are now navigating significant generational transitions.
The AmixTechLab.com report points out that global businesses across various sectors including fisheries, real estate, construction, infrastructure, wineries, restaurants and the major hotel chains are increasingly seeing families reallocating resources from holding companies to their heirs. These heirs are then setting up investment funds for direct management.
This trend of creating new investment funds is opening substantial opportunities, driven by the next generation’s focus on amassing ‘private wealth’ for corporate and social initiatives close to the parent company’s operations, on both a domestic and international scale. These initiatives seek to target climate change head on, supporting hospitality and the arts and promoting both rural and coastal development.
According to Max Morales, an advisor for Family Offices and Economic Groups: «For 23 years, I have championed strategic projects for family offices and high-net-worth individuals across diverse sectors such as mining, forestry, real estate, retail and viticulture. My focus has often been on community engagement through tourism and productive development initiatives. These projects have led to Shared Value initiatives aimed at strengthening regions through economic revitalisation by means of luxury tourism and hotel development, agriculture, gourmet food and beverage production, the arts and the rapidly emerging archaeological tourism routes.»
This recognised working methodology is now being widely adopted across Latin America, where Family Offices traditionally own vineyards or have interests in luxury hotel and tourism initiatives in rural, coastal and mountainous regions.
Tourism, Food Tech and Conservation of Flora and Fauna
This natural generational transition within families and economic groups often entails stringent requirements for family members to join the holding company, typically after significant academic and professional preparation abroad. Consequently, these new heirs to the family estate are relied upon to drive structural change, fostering innovation and promoting entrepreneurship to maintain the corporate legacy and ensure the long-term sustainability of the business.
Revitalising Chilean Patagonia: The Impact of Mexican Investment
The recent investment by Mexican entrepreneur Víctor González Herrera in Chilean Patagonia, specifically in the Guaitecas area, opens new opportunities for remote regions in Chile and globally. «The arrival of this esteemed Mexican entrepreneur will revitalise the Patagonian insular zone, a sector that has increasingly focused on reforestation and conservation” says Morales, a trained Agronomist. Regarding the issue of viticultural diversity, he adds that many of the previously inhabited islands harbour abandoned vinifera grapevines which could become a critical genetic resource. “This discovery could significantly enhance the Ancient Vineyard Rescue Plan currently underway in several Chilean regions through Andes Wines.»
Morales is spearheading the genetic rescue of coffee plantations and vineyards in South America, both of which have been significantly impacted by harsh agroclimatic conditions. Chile possesses the oldest genetics of these crops in the Americas, but due to isolation and the early arrival of Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Dutch explorers, much of this heritage was lost over time. Both coffee and grapevines were planted at strategic points along the original trade routes to Polynesia, making their preservation and recovery vital.
In response, Amix Tech Lab has developed a highly specialised service dedicated to the planning and roll-out of strategic projects to foster economic development such as ancestral vineyard reestablishment, real estate integration and boosting tourism on the islands and remote culturally rich regions like Patagonia, Easter Island, Central Valley and in the desert.
This service, exemplifying the synergy of legacy and modern entrepreneurship to create shared value projects and promote sustainability on an ongoing basis, is now expanding to Mexico, Colombia and beyond. By leveraging the extensive expertise of the Andes Wines team, these ambitious initiatives are being driven forward with remarkable impact.
For more information, contact info@amixtechlab.com
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