Edwin Smith

London

Editor of @SpearsMagazine, the media brand for UHNWs and the people who advise them. Before: contributor to @telegraph, @guardian, @esquireuk, @wireduk &c.

Articles

Introducing Spear's Magazine: Issue 95

3 weeks ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

One of Ernest Hemingway's characters in The Sun Also Rises famously said that you go bankrupt two ways: 'gradually, then suddenly'. Becoming stinking rich, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. It's a case of either/or. In 2023 (the most recent year for which good data is available), 25,319 people joined the ranks of the world's ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Family offices 'should invest' to power growth of UK life sciences sector

1 month ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

Family offices are ideally placed to power the next generation of British biotech and life sciences companies, according to Sir Leonard Blavatnik. 'Family offices should invest,' said Sir Lennard, speaking exclusively to Spear's at Kensington Palace, the venue for a gala dinner where the winners of the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom were announced last week.
Why private capital can help solve 'world's most pressing problems'

1 month ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

Private capital can help drive a recovery from the 'stagnation' of global social progress that has followed the pandemic, according to a new report from AlTi Tiedemann Global. The report, which was jointly produced by the international wealth management giant alongside the non-profit Social Progress Imperative, identified four key areas with scope for philanthropists and impact investors to make the biggest difference: health, rights, sustainability and gender equity.
Family office con man's rehabilitation faces setback

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

The rehabilitation of family office con man Anthony Ritossa suffered a major setback on Monday with the withdrawal of a key figure from Ritossa's upcoming conference at the Trump International Beach Resort in Miami. Cal Evans, a lawyer who had been scheduled to appear as master of ceremonies at the 24th edition of the Ritossa-backed Global Family Office Investment Summit, told Spear's that he had decided not to attend the event after being made aware of concerns about Ritossa's past behaviour.
The proptech platform that counters the 'Wild West' of super-prime property deals

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

When an ultra-high-net-worth individual with a multi-million-pound budget begins their search for a new home, it usually begins with a high-end buying agent or broker. The agent will seek to understand the client's needs and, hopefully, provide options to make their client's heart sing. For this service, they charge a monthly retainer, a percentage of the purchase price, or a share of the discount achieved on the asking price - or some combination of these.
'The world needs cycling more than ever': On the

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

'This is Raphaat its best,' says Simon Mottram, motioning towards the group of amateur cyclists gathered around him in the mountains of Provence. Some of them are quaffing rosé; the whole scene is bathed in the glow of early-evening sun. It's two decades now since Mottram founded the clothing company, which his 2003 business plan described as 'the first to bring brand, marketing and fashion sophistication to the sport of cycling'.
The Spear's Midas interview

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

How much is an ounce of gold? I know the price is skyrocketing because everybody wants to fight us and they're all building up their gold reserves in China and Russia, which is terrifying. But I literally haven't got a clue. Also, what's a bloody ounce?!How did you earn your first pay cheque? When I was 15 I worked as a waiter in a hotel in Tunbridge Wells. I can't remember what they paid me. Are you a saver or a spender? Well, definitely not a saver.
Hunters & Frankau and Ettinger's innovative cigar wrap is the solution to a timeless problem

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

How best to transport one's high-quality cigars? If you are the Houston oilman Enrico di Portanova, you are in Monte Carlo and the year is 1981, you may choose to slip them into custom pockets sewn into the breast of your mint-green linen field jacket (as immortalised by photographer Slim Aarons, below). If you are not, then a different - but equally elegant - solution may have just presented itself.
Is the world's first hydrogen-powered megayacht the future of yachting?

2 months ago | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

The brand-new superyacht Breakthrough is unlike any other boat that has ever been built. Stand on the dock beside it - as I did on a crisp, cold Amsterdam morning this winter - and the first thing you notice is its sheer size. At 118.8m in length, with five decks (four above the waterline and one below) and weighing some 7,247 tonnes, it is vast, the biggest ever to have been built in the Netherlands. Its exterior is striking too.
Out now: 10th print edition of the Spear's 500

Jan 22, 2025 | spearswms.com | Edwin Smith

I'm delighted to announce that the 10th edition of The Spear's 500 - the indispensable guide to the top private client advisers, wealth managers, lawyers and service providers for high-networth individuals (HNWs) - is out now.