HNW individuals in the Gulf region "talk the talk" about preparing for succession but too few "walk the walk" about it, the Geneva-headquartered private bank reports.

There is a wide gap between high net worth (HNW) families in the Middle East understanding the need to plan for succession and what they are actually doing about it, a survey from Swiss private bank Lombard Odier has found.

The bank surveyed 300 HNW individuals residing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain to produce its 2025 GCC Succession Planning Survey.

While succession is widely acknowledged as a strategic priority, only 18 per cent of family businesses across the Gulf have a comprehensive plan in place, the report said. Some 49 per cent of HNW families in the region without a plan continue to postpone the process. In the UAE, 30 per cent of respondents see succession as a matter for the future rather than the present; in Saudi Arabia, 60 per cent hold this view.

“Succession is not something that happens all at once. It is a gradual process that takes time, clarity and trust across generations,” Ali Janoudi, head of new markets at Lombard Odier, said. “What we are hearing from families is not hesitation, but a need for space to plan with intention, and the right structures to support that journey.”

Wealthy individuals in the Gulf face the same intergenerational wealth transfer and succession challenges as families worldwide. As regularly reported by WealthBriefing, a mass of advisors, banks and other institutions have established a presence in the region, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to serve local families as well as expatriates from the West, non-resident Indians and other groups.

Cultural barriers
In other findings, the report said families face cultural and interpersonal hurdles, such as difficulty in reaching agreement (45 per cent), limited access to expertise (43 per cent) and tensions between traditional expectations and modern leadership approaches (41 per cent).

Lack of structure
Fewer than one in six family businesses in the region have a formal governance framework to handle succession. However, there is optimism: more than nine in 10 respondents from both the older generation (96 per cent) and the next generation (93 per cent) said they were confident in the next generation’s ability to take on leadership roles.

Family offices
More than half (55 per cent) of HNW families have established a family office, rising to four in five among those running active businesses. Tax optimisation (47 per cent) and succession planning (44 per cent) were cited as the top reasons for creating such structures.

In Saudi Arabia, nearly 70 per cent of respondents said they have a family office, with 62 per cent structured as single-family entities. In the UAE, 50 per cent of respondents have a family office, almost half of which are single-family structures.

Technology and women in leadership
Almost half (46 per cent) of next-generation respondents believe that new technologies will have the greatest impact on family businesses in the near term, while 32 per cent are focused on international expansion.

Women are also playing a more active role. One in three families now include women in senior leadership, with strong benefits reported across innovation (58 per cent), governance (45 per cent) and generational collaboration (45 per cent).

Advisors
The survey also highlights shifting attitudes towards wealth advisors. Some 79 per cent of next-generation respondents said they are likely to change the advisor their parents worked with, reflecting evolving priorities and expectations.

Survey respondents, each with at least $1 million in investable assets, were surveyed online by CoreData Research in February and March 2025. The sample includes individuals from family businesses and those without such ties. Within the family business group, respondents are segmented into two generational cohorts: the senior generation, typically founders or current leaders, and the next generation, who are expected to assume leadership roles in the future.