Family offices are famously opaque. Job titles vary, roles blur together, and reliable compensation data is hard to find.
But the numbers exist. Two big surveys landed last year, and between them they cover more than 500 family offices across every continent. Add the household staffing reports and you can price almost every seat in the building.
So here's the full list. CEO to nanny. Salary bands by region. How to actually get hired. And a few things the data says about the industry.
Before the numbers, three things you need to know
First, family office numbers are growing, but team sizes are stable. 57% report no change in team size, 62% of professionals got a raise last year, but KPMG/Agreus reported that the most common rise was under 5%. Inflation was the top reason cited, not performance.
Second, long-term incentives are the real battleground. 62% of investment-focused US single family offices now run a formal LTI plan, against 54% across all SFOs. Above $1bn AUM that rises to roughly 70%, and above $2.5bn to 73%. For the first time since 2015, co-investment rights have overtaken deferred compensation as the most common structure. (Morgan Stanley/Botoff 2025 SFO Compensation Report)
Third, family members often still hold the top jobs. 53% of CEOs at investment-focused SFOs are family, roughly double the 27% rate across all SFOs. 13% of CIOs are family too. If you're an outside professional eyeing the corner office, that's your competition, and they don't need the salary.
Now the roles.
Executive Roles
Chief Executive Officer
The big cheese. Sets strategy, runs the shop, manages the family, and absorbs whatever the family throws at them. The larger the AUM, the more likely the CEO is a non-family hire, and the more likely they're paid like a partner rather than an employee.
US median total comp: $825,000 (Morgan Stanley/Botoff, investment-focused SFOs)
Most common base salary:
US $396k to $500k.
UK £198k to £264k.
Europe €198k to €264k.
Australia $500k to $625k.
Middle East $330k to $396k.
Asia splits between S$198k to S$264k and S$396k to S$500k. (KPMG/Agreus)
Background: US CEOs most commonly come from another family office (33%). In Europe it's banking (35%). In the UK it's a dead heat between accountancy and banking at 30% each. The typical CEO is a man in his late 40s or 50s with a Master's degree. In Asia, 100% of surveyed CEOs were men.
Chief Investment Officer
Owns the portfolio, the risk budget and manager selection. Increasingly owns direct deals too, since 56% of investment-focused SFOs now manage money in-house rather than handing it to external managers.
US median total comp: $900,000. Averages run closer to $1.8m once the top end is included.
Most common base:
US CIOs are widely spread, with 23% at $396k to $500k and a further 18% above $1m.
Europe €264k to €330k.
UK £198k to £264k.
Middle East $264k to $396k.
Background: hedge funds, PE, asset management, investment banking. In Asia, 37% of CEOs come from investment management, which tells you how CIO-shaped the top job is out there.
Chief Financial Officer
Reporting, liquidity, tax and risk. Also the person who has to explain the audit findings to the family and keep a straight face.
US median total comp: $620,000.
Most common base:
US $264k to $330k.
UK £158k to £198k.
Europe €198k to €264k.
Australia $264k to $330k.
Background: Big 4, corporate finance, or another family office. Almost always a qualified accountant.
Chief Operating Officer
Keeps the machine running. Systems, service delivery, vendors, staff, and the hundred small problems that never reach the principal.
US median total comp: $789,807. Higher than the CFO, which surprises people until they realize the COO often runs the operating business interface too.
Most common base:
US $396k to $500k.
Europe €198k to €264k.
UK £158k to £198k.
Background: the family operating business, consulting, or another family office.
General Counsel
Trusts, structuring, compliance, and increasingly cybersecurity and privacy law. Families that once paid external counsel by the hour are bringing them in-house.
Most common base:
US ranges from $264k up to $750k with no single dominant band.
Europe €198k to €264k.
UK £158k to £264k.
Background: law firms and in-house corporate. Families usually hire the external lawyer they already trust.
Chief of Staff
The CEO's right hand. Manages priorities, runs the calendar of decisions, and keeps the family informed without over-informing them.
The oddity in the data: European Chiefs of Staff most commonly earn €330k to €396k, while US counterparts sit at $158k to $198k.
Different job, same title. In Europe it's often a senior operator. In the US it's often an upgraded EA.
Background: lawyers, operating business veterans, and the occasional exceptional executive assistant.
Head of People
Talent, compensation, benefits, development. Most sub-$500m offices use a fractional HR director rather than a full-time hire. Earlier
US data put full-time packages at $125k to $170k below $500m AUM, rising to $225k to $385k above $2.5bn.
Investment Professionals
Senior Portfolio Manager: US median total comp $785,124.
Portfolio Manager:
US median total comp $480,000. Most common base: US $198k to $264k,
Europe €158k to €198k,
UK spread widely between £132k and £500k. (Morgan Stanley/Botoff; KPMG/Agreus)
Senior Associate: $287,500 median. Associate: $242,000.
Investment Analyst:
US median total comp $125,000. Most common base: US $72k to $85k,
Europe €99k to €132k,
UK £72k to £99k,
Middle East under $99k.
Background across the board: investment banks, asset managers, and other family offices. Analysts are hired straight from the IB and PE pipeline, and they know exactly what their bank peers earn.
Finance Director / Controller: Most common base
US $198k to $264k,
Europe €132k to €158k,
UK £99k to £132k.
Big 4 or corporate reporting backgrounds.
Tax Specialist:
US $198k to $500k,
Europe most commonly €132k to €158k.
The best are dual-qualified in law and accounting, and they're scarce. Earlier US data had tax directors at $1bn+ offices earning $425k to $700k.
Accountant:
US $99k to $158k,
UK £60k to £132k,
Europe €60k to €158k.
Governance and Trust
Family Governance and Succession Specialist
The person who stops the family from becoming a Succession plot. Compensation is rarely disclosed and the role is often fractional.
Earlier US surveys put it around $120k to $190k for sub-$1bn offices.
Here's an awkward stat: 67% of US family offices have no succession plan, and only 30% of UK offices do. Somebody should be getting paid to fix that.
Head of Trust Company
Historically $375k to $1.5m in the US depending on scale.
Hired from trust companies, private banks and fiduciary firms. European fiduciary specialists most commonly earn €132k to €158k.
Security and Technology
Head of Security:
US ranges from roughly $90k at smaller offices to $385k at $1bn+. Ex-military, ex-law enforcement, ex-close protection. As we covered in the kidnapping piece earlier this year, this seat is getting more senior and more expensive.
CTO / IT Specialist:
Middle East data puts IT specialists at $99k to $132k.
US CTO packages historically run $175k to $345k.
KPMG notes cyber spend is one of the main reasons operating costs are climbing.
Philanthropy
Foundation Director:
US $150k to $525k by AUM in earlier surveys.
Nonprofit and foundation backgrounds. 50% of US family offices and 49% of Australian ones list philanthropy as a core purpose, so this seat is growing.
Lifestyle and Household
This is where pay has moved most, and it's the part principals underestimate.
Estate Manager:
US median $185k, top of market $425k+ with accommodation and bonus. Salaries are up 20% to 30% in three years. (Talent Gurus 2026; Oplu 2026)
Private Chef:
US median $150k. Michelin-trained chefs in NYC and the Hamptons command $130k to $250k, and the top UHNW chefs now exceed $300k to $400k. Specialist dietary skills, celiac-safe cooking being the example cited, let a chef name their price. (Talent Gurus; Morgan & Mallet 2025/26)
Nanny: Switzerland leads globally at around $144k, the US follows at $120k. Governesses earn around $156k. Rota nannies with languages and educational credentials earn more, and only around 2% of nannies work rotational schedules. (Household Staff Annual Report 2025/26)
Butler: $110k to $190k. Chauffeur: $85k to $140k. House Manager: US median $130k.
Executive Assistant:
US and UK most commonly under $100k base.
Europe €132k to €158k for senior seats.
Often hired from the family business, because knowing the family is the real qualification.
Pilot: still $100k to $300k depending on aircraft type and hours, largely unchanged.
Background for all of these: hospitality, luxury service, and prior UHNW households. Average tenure has collapsed to around three years. Staff move, and they move for money.
How the package is actually built
Base salary is only the opening bid.
Globally, 65% of family office professionals receive a discretionary bonus, only 16% get a formulaic one, and 28% get no performance bonus at all. Personal performance is the biggest driver, followed by fund performance and, tellingly, relationship with the principal. (KPMG/Agreus)
12% of professionals take home more than 100% of base as bonus. The big money is at the top of the investment team.
Long-term incentives reach only 28% of professionals globally, but the mix is revealing. In the US it's carried interest (68%) and co-investment (61%). In Asia it's carry (62%). In Europe, co-investment (40%) narrowly leads carry (38%). Stock options barely feature anywhere.
Benefits differ sharply by region. US professionals typically get 20 days of leave and private healthcare. Europeans get 25 days and a pension. The Middle East gives 30 days and flights home. Schooling and accommodation are rare everywhere.
And remote work is slowing. 71% of offices allow it, but only 12% are fully remote, and KPMG reports a steady drift back to the office. Privacy and relationships favor physical presence.
The regional picture
Location beats everything. The same CIO earns €264k base in Zurich, $500k in Connecticut, and $1m+ in New York with a direct investment mandate.
The US remains the deepest market and pays the highest gross salary for 17 of 28 household roles. Florida and Texas are pulling offices from the coasts and from Latin America.
The UK is the only region where C-suite salaries didn't rise last year. The non-dom changes have pushed wealth creators out, but 80% of UK offices remain in London and the talent pool is still world-class.
Switzerland sits at the top of European pay for household staff and has the densest cluster of SFOs in Zurich and Geneva, helped by cantonal tax deals and a private banking talent bench.
The UAE is the fastest-growing hub. 86% of Middle East family offices are there, and they now compete with London and New York for English-speaking senior staff.
Singapore has gone from 400 tax-incentivized family office structures in 2020 to over 2,000 by end 2024. Asia CEOs are the youngest in the survey, most commonly aged 40 to 44.
Inside the data
Gender representation is going backward in most regions. Women make up 22% of professionals globally and 24% of leadership at investment-focused US SFOs. Australia is the exception, where female participation jumped from 12% to 31% in two years.
And most family offices are tiny. 38% employ five people or fewer. The CEO of a $600m office is often also the CFO, the COO and occasionally the travel agent.
So who profits? The specialist. Tax directors, cyber leads, direct-deal CIOs, and rota nannies with three languages. Generalists in mid-sized offices are the ones feeling the squeeze, and the Virtual Family Office model is partly a response to that.
A family office pays a premium for what it can't get anywhere else. For everything else, outsourcing is a popular choice.
Sources: Morgan Stanley Single Family Office Advisory and Botoff Consulting, 2025 SFO Compensation Report (113 investment-focused SFOs, data from 2024, reported via InvestmentNews). KPMG Private Enterprise and Agreus, 2025 Global Family Office Compensation Benchmark Report (585 respondents, 20 interviews). Talent Gurus Household Staff Salary Guide 2026. Oplu Private Staff Salary Guide 2026. Morgan & Mallet, Beyond the Butler 2025/26. Household Staff Agency Annual Report 2025/26. Earlier US figures for HR, governance, trust, security, tax director and philanthropy roles from the Morgan Stanley 2023 study, where 2025 data wasn't broken out by role.
