A newly released ranking of America’s most active billionaire family offices has placed Eric Schmidt’s Hillspire at the top, highlighting the growing influence of ultra-wealthy private investment vehicles in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, advanced technology, and private capital markets.
The ranking, disclosed by CNBC through its inaugural Family Office 15 report, shows that Hillspire completed 15 publicly disclosed investments during 2025, more than any other qualifying family office tracked in the study.
Billionaire Capital Continues Its Shift Toward AI
Hillspire, the family office of former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, directed a significant portion of its investment activity toward artificial intelligence and deep technology ventures.
Among the reported investments were companies involved in AI voice technology, advanced software platforms, and next-generation computing initiatives. The activity reinforces Schmidt’s long-standing public commitment to AI development and strategic technology leadership.
The report also highlighted substantial activity from other billionaire-controlled investment vehicles, including Bezos Expeditions, the family office of Jeff Bezos, as well as entities linked to Peter Thiel, Barry Sternlicht, Lukas Walton, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Jim Pallotta.
Collectively, the ranked family offices completed more than 120 disclosed investments across sectors including artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, software, food technology, blockchain, and healthcare.
What Capital Moved
The precise dollar amounts behind many of the transactions remain undisclosed, which is common in the family office sector.
However, the significance lies in the direction of the capital.
Rather than allocating primarily through traditional public markets, billionaire family offices increasingly deploy capital directly into private companies, emerging technologies, venture investments, and strategic acquisitions.
With global family offices estimated to control more than $3 trillion in assets, these investment decisions increasingly influence funding availability, company valuations, acquisition activity, and sector development worldwide.
Why This Matters
Family offices have become one of the most powerful forces in modern capital markets.
Unlike private equity firms, they are not constrained by external investors, fund lifecycles, or quarterly reporting obligations. This allows billionaire investors to pursue longer-term strategies and take positions in emerging sectors before institutional capital arrives.
The latest disclosures suggest that AI has become the dominant theme among billionaire capital allocators.
According to the report, technology, software, and AI-related investments represented more than one-third of disclosed family office deal activity during the period reviewed.
This concentration of capital provides a strong indication of where some of the world’s most influential investors believe future value creation will occur.
What It Signals for Global Wealth Positioning
The latest family office activity signals a continued migration of billionaire wealth away from passive asset ownership and toward direct control of strategic technologies.
For entrepreneurs, institutional investors, and policymakers, the message is clear: billionaire family offices are increasingly acting as global capital deployment engines, identifying emerging sectors years before they mature.
The prominence of AI across billionaire portfolios suggests that ultra-high-net-worth investors are positioning themselves not merely to participate in the next technology cycle, but to shape it.
As family offices continue expanding globally, their influence on acquisitions, venture funding, infrastructure development, and innovation ecosystems is expected to grow substantially.
The publication of the new ranking provides one of the clearest windows yet into how billionaire capital is being positioned for the next decade of economic transformation.
