Why My Kids Became Shareholders at the Age of 7

I have always admired Patek Philippe for reasons that go far beyond watches.  

Their original line captured something timeless: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” More recently, as part of their Generations campaign, they refined the message even further:  

“Begin your own tradition.”  

That line stays with me.  

Because real wealth has never been about ownership. It has always been about custodianship.

After more than 35 years of intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial life, I have seen fashions come and go. Business models rise and fall. Strategies hailed as gospel one decade quietly abandoned the next. What endures is not trend, but principle.  

As a dad to two boys and two girls, this philosophy matters deeply to me.  

All four of my children are shareholders in our holding company, the youngest of whom was just seven at the time. This wasn’t about teaching a seven-year-old how to be a shareholder. It was a deliberate decision to ensure that by the time they reach 18, they will understand ownership, responsibility and stewardship far better than I did at that age. 

That is the quiet power of compounding knowledge and true multigenerational custodianship. Everything I continue to build in business, property, capital and in relationships is shaped by one question: will this still make sense for them long after I am gone?  

Too many people inherit habits, whilst too few inherit understanding.  

Education beats inheritance, structure beats speed and values beat valuation. The real risk is not challenging the system and passing it on unquestioned.  

This is where stoicism has always shaped my thinking.  

Epictetus wrote: “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” For me, that means building quietly, teaching deliberately and structuring life and wealth so it serves the family, not the other way around.  

We do not truly own what we build. We hold it in trust.  

And perhaps the most important question any of us can ask is this:  

What tradition are you beginning for the next generation?