Daniel Kaufman, founder of the permanent capital holding company Kaufman & Company, will speak at the Global Family Office Investment Summit in Miami on Oct. 15 to 16, where he plans to argue that family office capital is uniquely suited to build the housing American communities lack. His appearance comes as new research from Citi Wealth reveals that North American family offices hold the largest share of direct real estate and that nearly a third intend to increase those holdings.
The Citi Wealth 2026 Global Family Office Report, a survey of roughly 350 family offices across more than 40 countries, found that direct real estate makes up about 10% of the average family office portfolio worldwide and 13% in North America—the highest of any region. The report also noted that nearly a third of North American respondents plan to add more real estate, while 75% invest directly in companies and public equities became the top destination for new capital this year.
Kaufman, whose firm invests only its own capital and does not raise outside funds, sees these trends as confirmation that families value tangible, manageable assets. "Family office capital is patient by design, and real estate rewards patience more than almost any other asset," Kaufman said. "The Citi numbers tell me families are not chasing the market; they are owning what they can see and manage. The question I want to put in front of the room in Miami is whether that capital is going where the country needs buildings most, which is housing for the people who work in these communities."
He argues that the family office advantage is time, not size. "We invest only our own capital, so every project has to stand on its own merit without a fund deadline pushing it," Kaufman said. "That freedom is the real edge a family office has. It lets you buy land when others are selling, wait out an entitlement process, and build workforce housing that a fund chasing fees would pass on. I would like to see more families use it that way."
Kaufman & Company recently launched BUILD 2030, a national development platform that unites its housing, construction, technology, and AI infrastructure businesses. Its operating companies include DEK Builds, an integrated design, build, development, and investment firm active in mountain resorts, hotels, and commercial construction, and LandBriefing, a Kaufman Ventures platform that tracks land and housing fundamentals across U.S. markets. The firm's platform represents more than $2 billion in project value and more than 10,000 housing units over more than 25 years.
With family offices increasingly drawn to direct real estate, Kaufman's message at the Miami summit underscores a growing opportunity: deploying patient capital into workforce housing could help alleviate the nation's affordability crisis while providing stable, long-term returns for families. The 33rd edition of the summit, which lists Kaufman on its published agenda, will convene family office principals and investment leaders to explore such strategies.
