Advocate. Bridge Builder. Advisor.
Helping wealthy families in the United States and abroad maximize their complex relationships with Wall Street and Washington DC.
Merging the skills, insights, and wisdom developed on Wall Street with the diplomacy and persuasiveness required in Washington DC for the benefit of family offices and their portfolios.
Wall Street
Robert began his investment banking career with Lazard Frères & Co. During the four years he spent in the corporate finance department, he helped raise capital for domestic and multinational corporations, as well as intergovernmental entities. At that time, Lazard was an elite and exclusive firm, offering its services to some of the most demanding families and companies in the United States and Europe.
Robert was recruited to join Merrill Lynch in its Mergers and Acquisitions department. Soon after arriving, he realized Merrill had an underappreciated asset: its own balance sheet. He helped convince Merrill to use this untapped resource not only to close client transactions, but to make transactions happen. He was elected head of the Leveraged Buyout department and soon thereafter sourced the first $1 billion leveraged buyout ever completed, which closed in 1984 and in which Merrill invested as principal.
This successful transaction led Merrill to become the first investment bank on Wall Street to launch a leveraged buyout fund. Robert became the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the Merrill Lynch entity responsible for the investments of that fund.
“Protecting family held businesses from the challenges of intergenerational transfer continues to define Robert’s work.”
Robert also helped design the brand that would distinguish Merrill in the marketplace, identifying Merrill as the “White Knight” helping defend public companies from hostile takeovers threatened by corporate raiders. This strategy was enormously successful and led to Merrill becoming one of the predominant players in the Wall Street private equity community.
Robert has served on the boards of directors of 12 companies ranging in size from $75 million to $4 billion in annual sales, many of which had previously been publicly traded. His corporate governance experience includes serving as non-executive chairman of the board, a member of the executive committee, and a member of the compensation committee.
The theme of protecting companies, their employees, and the communities in which those companies were located continues to define Robert’s private equity activities as he focuses on defending family-held businesses from the challenges of intergenerational transfer and the often crushing burden produced by state and federal estate taxes.
Family Offices
Robert has been a participant in the family office ecosystem for over 30 years, since a California-based family office became a limited partner in a fund he established after leaving Merrill Lynch.
First as an observer and more recently as the chief executive officer of his own family office in Palm Beach, Florida, Capri Capital, LLC, he has witnessed the explosive growth of the family office community and its emergence as a force in finance and philanthropy. A prolific author, he has published over a dozen articles and spoken at numerous conferences detailing the risks families face as a result of the Great Wealth Transfer, the imposition of confiscatory transfer taxes, and the consequences of the growing popularity of wealth taxes at both the state and federal levels. His articles have been published by a number of leading media outlets, including Bloomberg, RealClearPolitics, and the Chicago Tribune. See News & Insights for access to all his articles. He has spoken at family office conferences in Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, and London. He is a member of the Global Family Office Community, which is based in London, and serves on its Expert Council, offering advice to the GFOC’s 2,000 members across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States regarding investment management subjects.
“Because of Robert’s standing in the Wall Street community and expertise in fund formation, he serves as a valuable bridge between Wall Street and family offices.”
As Wall Street increasingly turns to family offices to invest in its deals, family offices seek reciprocity. Inviting Wall Street to supplement a family office’s investment capital, whether through financing a tranche of a company’s capitalization or as a limited partner in a family office-led fund, requires insights and skills not generally available to the family office. Because of Robert’s standing in the Wall Street community, his access to senior management at leading investment firms in both the United States and London, and his expertise in fund formation, he is a valuable bridge between those two parties.
Since family legacies are dependent on the preservation of family-founded businesses, protecting the transfer of those businesses upon the passing of the founder is critically important. However, since family wealth is built on after-tax income, navigating the tax environment as it currently exists and how it will likely evolve is equally important. Robert is an expert in alerting family offices to this crucial dynamic.
Washington DC
Robert began his professional career as an attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, but it is his advocacy regarding the preservation of legacies established by family-held businesses that has led him back to Washington.
Robert is a member of the Family Enterprise USA organization and a member of the advisory board of its family office-focused affiliate, Family Enterprise USA Action. Family Enterprise USA is a 1 million-strong organization that works to educate members of Congress and the public about the impact public policies, particularly tax-oriented policies, will have on closely held and generationally owned family businesses. Family Enterprise USA Action focuses on the policy and tax issues affecting family offices. As a representative of the Family Enterprise organization, Robert has met on three occasions with members of the Congressional Family Business Caucus, which is a bipartisan group of congressmen and congresswomen who focus on legislative matters that impact family-held businesses. Consequently, Robert appreciates the persuasiveness and diplomacy required to be an effective advocate in Washington.
“Over three decades in the family office ecosystem have given Robert a unique perspective on wealth, legacy, and preservation.”
He is also a member of a Family Enterprise USA task force that will educate voters regarding the proliferation of “wealth taxes” proposed in various state jurisdictions and at the federal level. Since these proposals tax “wealth,” not “income,” the required annual disclosure to a governmental agency of all a wealthy family’s assets, both liquid and illiquid, and the fair market value of those assets raises many serious constitutional issues. Meetings with members of the U.S. House and Senate Tax Committees will likely occur throughout 2026 and 2027.
Societal Focus
Robert continues to direct his personal, professional, and philanthropic resources to support many nonprofit and scientific organizations.
Until he relocated to Florida, Robert was a member of the board of directors of the Henry Street Settlement, a social service agency serving the needs of the immigrant communities of New York’s Lower East Side. Robert was a member of its board for 18 years, serving on its investment committee and being twice elected chair of its search committee for the selection of its endowment manager. He is also a benefactor of its facilities.
Robert was a member of the advisory board of Columbia University Medical Center for three years, which was responsible for providing guidance to Columbia’s Medical School, Dental School, and Nursing School.
Robert is an active member and supporter of the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, which funds research to develop new drugs and treatments for depression and depression-related illnesses.
Robert holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, as well as a JD degree from Cornell Law School.
He can reached at rfmancuso@capricapital.llc
