Thomas Lyons 
Playrix founders, Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, are expanding their personal investment firm, Rix Capital, which manages around $4 billion. The firm is moving into its first permanent office in London’s St James’s district with staff set to double to around 10 employees. The brothers have recently sought to hire a new head for Rix Capital, as well as senior investment and legal staff. The brothers, who are Russian-born Israelis and live in London, are worth approximately $11 billion. Playrix, which makes games including Township and Gardenscapes, is headquartered in Dublin and employs over 3,000 people worldwide.
Rix Capital is now among the world’s biggest family offices, which are lightly regulated investment firms for the ultra-wealthy that have surged in number globally over the past two decades. Family offices for single fortunes manage about $1 billion on average, according to 2022 research from Campden Wealth. The Bukhmans started their business in Russia during the early 2000s when Igor learned from a university professor that he could sell software online. Along with Dmitry, who was in high school at the time, he gave it a try. In 2004, when the business reached $10,000 in monthly revenue, they registered as a legal entity and rented office space in the basement of a book warehouse.
Playrix moved its headquarters to Ireland about a decade ago and closed its operations in the brothers’ homeland and Belarus last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Playrix was the world’s third-largest mobile game publisher by revenue in 2022, according to marketing agency Udonis. The Bukhmans are Playrix’s majority shareholders and never raised outside money to help finance their firm. They started ramping up their personal investments over the past five years through dividends from the gaming firm, according to the person with knowledge of the matter.
Rix Capital was established in late 2021 through Playrix executives, according to regulatory filings. Rix typically allocates capital across asset classes including private equity, hedge funds, fixed income, and listed stocks. The firm is expected to complete the move into its new London headquarters in the next few months. Other members of the world’s rich, including branches of Egypt’s Mansour dynasty and Canada’s Weston family, have also set up family offices in London. The city is a global hub for wealthy individuals partly due to its access to luxury homes, business opportunities, and private hospitals.
In summary, the Bukhman brothers are expanding their personal investment firm, Rix Capital, which manages around $4 billion. The firm is moving into its first permanent office in London’s St James’s district with staff set to double to around 10 employees. The brothers have recently sought to hire a new head for Rix Capital, as well as senior investment and legal staff. The brothers, who are Russian-born Israelis and live in London, are worth approximately $11 billion. Playrix, which makes games including Township and Gardenscapes, is headquartered in Dublin and employs over 3,000 people worldwide.
