Geopolitical disruption has crossed a threshold for the world’s wealthiest investors, shifting from a headline risk to a core allocation theme. Four families behind Ferrari, Cox Enterprises, and other dynasties have collectively deployed capital into defense, energy, and strategic metals. Their combined net worth of roughly $90 billion makes the repositioning a signal worth examining.
The most direct expression of this pivot is defense technology. Investment vehicles tied to the Ferrari dynasty and Cox Enterprises have backed Hermeus Corp., a startup building hypersonic uncrewed aircraft for the US Department of Defense . Hermeus closed a $350 million Series C in April 2026 at a $1 billion valuation, with Cox Enterprises and its Socium Ventures fund joining as new investors . The company’s pitch is speed: hardware-first execution aimed at shortening the timeline from design to deployment for military applications .
Colombia’s richest man, Jaime Gilinski, has taken a different route. He and his son made a $107 million investment in GeoPark Ltd. in March 2026, viewing the Latin American oil and gas producer as a vehicle for entering Venezuela’s recovering oil sector . Gilinski’s stake has since grown substantially; by November 2026, his combined beneficial ownership reached 56.3% of GeoPark’s outstanding shares following a share issuance tied to the Miranda transaction . This is control-position investing, not passive allocation.
The Lundin family office, representing the heirs of Swedish oil and mining tycoon Adolf Lundin, has focused on materials rather than energy. In March 2026, it spent nearly C$40 million to increase holdings in Vancouver-based copper and diamond mining companies . The logic is supply-chain squeeze: as geopolitical competition restricts access to critical minerals, existing producers gain pricing power.
These moves share a common assessment: the post-2022 sanctions landscape and ongoing conflicts have permanently altered the risk calculus for cross-border wealth. JPMorgan’s February 2026 survey of 333 investment firms for the ultra-rich found that one in five now ranks geopolitics as their top risk, ahead of liquidity and inflation . That is a remarkable elevation for a category that traditionally sat below market and credit risk in private wealth portfolios.
The Porsche and Volkswagen billionaire families have also moved toward defense startup investing, reversing a prior stance of funding only civilian-focused products . Flat Capital, the investment vehicle of Klarna co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski, expanded its strategy in 2025 to include the defense sector . The direction of travel is consistent across geographies and family lineages.
Commodity markets have validated these positions. Oil, gold, and silver all rallied in 2026 as trade disruptions and safe-haven demand intensified following US actions involving Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran . Mexico’s richest man, Carlos Slim, has already captured outsized gains from these shocks. Global political uncertainty added more than $20 billion to the collective fortunes of individuals and families with stakes in listed defense businesses this year .
The conflict economy is not a single trade but a portfolio architecture. Energy exposure provides inflation and supply-shock protection. Metals offer exposure to electrification and defense supply chains. Defense technology captures the rearmament cycle. Geographic diversification mitigates the risk that any single jurisdiction becomes hostile to wealth. Each leg reinforces the others.
Some family offices are also physically relocating operations. A KPMG-Agreus Group report found that almost half of surveyed family offices now operate in more than one location, up from about a third in 2023 . Belgian flooring tycoon Filip Balcaen’s family office expanded its private equity team in the US this year . This is diversification at the structural level, not just the asset level.
The advisory community has taken notice. Sara Macedo, managing principal at London-based Emissary Partners, described the current moment as one where “the geopolitical and geoeconomic overlay has never been so important to capital stewardship” . Her advice to families: look beyond the horizon and understand how decisions are being made at the most senior levels. That is a call for political intelligence as a core investment competency.
For global investors outside the ultra-wealthy circle, the signal is not that they should replicate the exact trades. Most cannot buy 56% of an oil producer or gain access to pre-IPO defense startups. What is replicable is the framework: treat geopolitics as an allocation input rather than a news cycle, and build portfolios that can survive multiple conflict scenarios rather than betting on one.
The risk in this strategy is obvious. Conflict economies can reverse quickly if tensions de-escalate or if political leadership changes. A ceasefire in the Middle East, a resolution in Venezuela, or a shift in US defense priorities would test the thesis. The families making these bets are aware of that; their time horizons span generations, not quarters. They are positioning for a world order that they believe has already changed, not one they are predicting will change.
What distinguishes this pivot from panic selling is its selectivity. These families are not liquidating diversified portfolios to buy gold bars and defense stocks. They are adding targeted exposures at the margins, using structures that preserve optionality. The Ferrari and Cox families still hold their core industrial and media assets. The Lundins remain diversified across mining. Gilinski’s GeoPark position sits alongside other holdings. This is tactical adjustment within a strategic framework.
The broader message for wealth managers and investors is that the definition of “safe” has shifted. For three decades, safe meant US Treasuries, dollar cash, and diversified public equities. For a growing cohort of the ultra-rich, safe now includes physical metals in friendly jurisdictions, energy assets in politically aligned countries, and defense technology that benefits from the very fragmentation that threatens conventional portfolios. The $90 billion pivot is a bet that the old definition no longer holds.