Bessemer Trust is a private, independent

multi-family office A multi-family office (MFO) is an independent organization that supports multiple families to manage their entire wealth. Multi-family offices typically provide a variety of services including tax and estate planning, risk management, objective ...

that oversees more than $200 billion for over 3,000 families, foundations and endowments. Founded in 1907, the firm has its headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, with 19 regional offices elsewhere in the world.

History and family ownership

In 1907, Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), of the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century ...

that still owns and directs the firm, started Bessemer Trust as a

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

to manage money he earned from his sale of

Carnegie Steel Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed in ...

, which he founded with

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. Around 1920, Bessemer Trust for the Phipps family "provided not only investments but dog walking, maids and a private train to shuttle family members between New York and Florida." The Bessemer name was a reference to a steel-making process that had helped enrich the Phippses. In 1974, the Phipps family began allowing other select wealthy families to use Bessemer Trust's family office capabilities. This allowed the firm to maintain the size required to attract potential staff and investments. In 2001, Bessemer Trust entered into a partnership with

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

's Alan Goldberg to form

Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer Lindsay Goldberg (LGLLC) is an American private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies in such sectors as consumer products, commodity-based manufacturing, energy services, business ser ...

, a middle market private equity firm. Prior to the founding of LGB, Bessemer Trust's Robert Lindsay was responsible for making private equity investments. Bessemer Trust won three notable awards in the 2014 Family Wealth Report, the yearly report from an organization that evaluates and ranks wealth management firms. The awards Bessemer Trust won include ''Best National Multi-Family Office'' and ''Best Fund Manager''. The current Chairman of the

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

is the great-grandson of Henry Phipps, Stuart S. Janney III, who succeeded Ogden Mills Phipps in 1994. In 2018, Bessemer Trust leased the top seven floors at

1271 Avenue of the Americas 1271 Avenue of the Americas (formerly known as the Time & Life Building) is a 48-story skyscraper on Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), between 50th and 51st streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, relocating from 630 Fifth Avenue in 2021. As of 2021, it managed around $100 billion in assets, including assets of celebrities such as

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

. It asked to withdraw as the conservator to her estate in July 2021, stating it had not known of her objection to the conservatorship, after she publicly criticized the arrangement. As such, they withdrew from the role entirely. The request was accepted by a judge - Bessemer Trust had been appointed in November 2020 but had not yet started its duties or received any assets or fees. As of December 31, 2020, the Bessemer Trust Company had a 401(k) plan in New Jersey of $520 million.https://www.pionline.com/courts/bessemer-trust-sued-favoring-proprietary-funds-401k-plan
- accessed Dec. 31, 2022 As of 2021, Bessemer Trust remains a wealth management firm. In 2022, Bessemer Group Inc. operated two banks insured by the

FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

- Bessemer Trust Co. NA and Bessemer Trust Co. It also operated two direct US trust companies: Bessemer Trust Co. of Delaware NA and Bessemer Trust Co. of Florida.

Company

Bessemer Trust's headquarters are in New York City. The firm has 18 regional offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Grand Cayman, Greenwich, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Naples, Palm Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, Stuart, Washington, D.C., Wilmington, and Woodbridge in New Jersey. Bessemer Trust manages wealth totaling $106 billion, 90% of which comes from their 2,300 clients. With a client-retention rate of 98.4%, the firm holds on to significantly more of their clients than the industry-wide average of 95%. Clients must have at least $10 million to expect a full range of services from Bessemer Trust.

References

External links

*
Bessemer Trust at ''Barron's''
{{Authority control American companies established in 1907 Financial services companies established in 1907 Banks established in 1907 Banks based in New York City 1907 establishments in New York (state)