Читать книгу The Destructive Power of Family Wealth - Marcovici Philip - Страница 7

I have many to thank for help in writing this book, and have to acknowledge the outstanding support I received from a number of friends and colleagues. A surprising number of people took the time to read an advance review copy of the book, and I received many, many helpful comments.

The errors and judgements that I have made are, of course, my own responsibility, and I take particular ownership of the strong negative views I have of certain financial centers and of those who have led the wealth-management industry and its clients down a dark, dangerous path more about secrecy than understanding and meeting client needs. I believe that wealth-owning families have been let down by a business which has been too easily distracted by short-term, easy profits. These views are my own, and I take full responsibility for them.

I was fortunate in my career to have had the opportunity to work with families from around the world and, in my teaching, with students from around the world. I learned much from these experiences, and continue to do so. I was also fortunate to work with many advisors and regulators who not only share my vision of what wealth owners and the communities to which they are connected really need, but who are also leaders of change on many fronts. Sadly, the “stars” in the wealth-management industry and in the leadership of key financial centers are few and far between, but they do exist, and I have been fortunate to work with a number of them.

Pascal Saint-Amans, the Director of Tax Policy and Administration at the OECD, and his predecessor, Jeffrey Owens, were visionaries who generously supported my work in helping to address issues around undeclared funds, leading to the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility and related arrangements between Liechtenstein and the UK. With the help of a very talented colleague, Lyubomir Georgiev, we, together with a number of others, were able to achieve what I believe was an example of what was needed at the time, but which received massive resistance from financial centers, law and accounting firms, and private banks and trust companies seeking to preserve the past. I think they regret this, as do many of the wealth-owning families connected to countries other than the UK, who would have benefitted from what was achieved – a confidential and sympathetic approach to moving from an opaque past to a transparent future. The arrangements would not have worked without the huge efforts of Andy Cole, former Director of Specialist Investigations for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Now retired, Andy, a good friend, was appointed by the then Chairman of HMRC, Dave Hartnett, to negotiate the arrangements on behalf of the UK.

I received considerable input to my book, and I thank all those who took the time to share their thoughts. I have particularly to thank Stefan Liniger for his support and detailed comments. Stefan was a strong defender of Switzerland in his comments to me, and while only mildly successful in his efforts to have me tone down my criticism of Switzerland, Stefan shares with me a passion for excellence and a strong belief that Switzerland will rebuild its ability to be a long-term and respected safe haven for global families. Britta Pfister wore green eyeshades when reading my book, and not only provided important comments, but also line-by-line corrections that were much needed and appreciated. My good friend and colleague of decades, Paul Stibbard, provided not only detailed comments – correcting my English (and I very much trust his!) – but also important input on many aspects of my book and particularly my references to Islamic law, one of the many areas of his deep expertise.

Michael Morley was most helpful and supportive in his comments, and for years was one of the few leaders in the industry who I believe really understood what wealth management is about. Stephen Atkinson, Jurgen Vanhoenacker, Anthonia Hui, Leo Drago, Maurice Machenbaum, Amaury Jordan, Tom McCullough, and many others were also most helpful and generous in sharing their thoughts.

I also thank Annie Chen for her years of patient support and insight over martinis and otherwise, Lisbet Rausing for sharing her views over pancakes she made for me in London, and Michael Olesnicky, Jeff VanderWolk, and Richard Weisman for their input and friendship. Professors Joseph Fan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, S.F. Wong of the University of Hong Kong, and Roger King of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology were all of support and influence, along with many, many others.

I have been fortunate to work with John Wiley & Sons in relation to the publication of this book, and particularly want to thank Thomas Hyrkiel and Jeremy Chia for their professionalism and support.

Finally, my love and thanks go to my wife, Peggy, for her insights and consistent disagreement with almost everything I say.