Kyle Shaw's upbringing was a strange mix of the utterly spoiled and very hard work. He was brought up by his jet-setting parents across Europe, America and beyond, spending some of the time when he was very young in the business they owned, the Salon of Pleasures. There, he had a huge number of 'uncles' and 'aunts', who helped teach him about the finer things in life; by the time he was five, he spoke passable French and Spanish, and knew more about fashion, fine wines and dining than most adults. His parents never lied to him or sheltered him from the nature of the business, and Kyle grew up with a somewhat blaise attitude towards sex, bordering on disinterest.

James Shaw also ensured that his son had a thorough grounding in the other family concern: finance and investment. Even as a child, Kyle was put in charge of a trust fund, and had to make the decisions about how to run it, with James enacting them but not offering advice. They lost tens of thousands of dollars to Kyle's mistakes, but the experience made him learn how to manage money faster and more devotedly than any course. By the time he was in his teens the fund was turning over a nice profit, ensuring that Kyle would never have to work a day in his life if he didn't want to; although the exercise did imprint on him his father's work ethic. Though only 21, Kyle is already well on his way to a Master's degree in economics and management.

Kyle has the best of his parents' features; James' height and fit, toned build, Alita's dark hair, sensual mouth and ability to look as good rolling out of bed with messy hair as tided up and slipped into a tuxedo.