Most centimillionaires make their fortunes by founding, building, or owning companies. More than 60% are entrepreneurs and company founders (Henley & Partners, 2024). A business sale can turn years of operating value into substantial wealth; many then keep or reinvest capital across businesses and other assets.
Building and owning a business
The clearest pattern in the available data is business ownership. More than 60% of centimillionaires are entrepreneurs and company founders (Henley & Partners, 2024). That points to wealth created through company ownership and growth, rather than salary alone.
"Centi-millionaire" can refer to different measures. Henley & Partners counts people with at least US$100 million in liquid investable assets, while Knight Frank's separate count uses net worth. The figures are not interchangeable: Henley reported 29,350 people worldwide in its liquid-asset category in 2024 (Henley & Partners, 2024).
Turning a company into a fortune
A founder may build a company over years, then sell some or all of it. The sale can create a large pool of capital that the owner can invest or use to build another business. The excerpts do not establish that every centimillionaire follows this path, but they illustrate how business ownership and a sale can work together.
At a Family Office Club event, a speaker described starting a heating and air conditioning business, selling it, then moving into business brokerage. He said his brokerage sold businesses ranging from restaurants and flower shops to manufacturing companies, and that access to their books and financial statements helped him see what buyers needed. It is an example of one person's progression from operating a business to deal making, not a universal blueprint.
Keeping wealth productive
Some families continue to own operating businesses after reaching substantial wealth. Richard C. Wilson describes one family office he worked with that had 20 operating businesses, and another in Asia that owned 60. In his account, family office staff helped oversee those businesses, support shared resources, and connect them with financing and business partners. That suggests wealth can remain tied to active companies across generations, rather than being held only in market investments.
The excerpts do not provide a breakdown of how centimillionaires allocate their wealth between operating companies, public markets, and other assets. The strongest sourced answer is that entrepreneurship and company founding are common routes to this level of wealth, with business ownership, growth, and sale offering a concrete mechanism.
From Family Office Club events
"So I started a business brokerage business selling businesses. We were selling pizza parlors, delicatessence, restaurants, flower shops, manufacturing companies. This was 1980s, about 40 years ago."
Sources
- Henley & Partners, Centi-Millionaire Report 2024 (entrepreneur and founder share; liquid-asset definition and count). henleyglobal.com
- Family Office Club event transcript
- Family Office Club event transcript
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