500 richest Germans top Swiss GDP
Despite the eurozone debt crisis, Germany’s richest citizens are getting richer. At over €500 billion, the total value of assets belonging to the 500 wealthiest Germans exceeds Switzerland’s gross domestic product, a new ranking said.
The family behind German discount supermarket giant Aldi once again topped this year’s German billionaires, the list published Tuesday in Manager Magazin showed.
With a fortune worth €17.2 billion, the family of 92-year-old Karl Albrecht, who founded the company with his late brother Theo, took the No. 1 spot, while Theo Albrecht‘s sons Berthold and Theo Jr were in second place with a combined fortune of €16 billion.
But the co-founder of software company SAP, Hasso Plattner, saw the biggest gains in the past 12 months - the value of his assets increased by €900 million to nearly €6 billion.
The number of billionaires in Germany also reached a new peak in 2012, with 115 compared to 108 the previous year.
Meanwhile, the debt crisis wreaking havoc across the eurozone hasn’t shaken the super-rich. Germany’s wealthiest 100 citizens saw the value of their assets rise more than 4 percent – putting the figure closer to 2008’s record.
With the exception of those whose fortunes were made in the retail and financial sectors, nearly all branches of German business saw their wealthiest proprietors build on their riches.
But not all of the country’s billionaires had a good year. The family behind the bankrupt Schlecker drugstore chain was left with less than €40 million after seeing its fortunes drop by €1.92 billion, making it the biggest loser on this year’s list.
The Local/arp
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The family behind German discount supermarket giant Aldi once again topped this year’s German billionaires, the list published Tuesday in Manager Magazin showed.
With a fortune worth €17.2 billion, the family of 92-year-old Karl Albrecht, who founded the company with his late brother Theo, took the No. 1 spot, while Theo Albrecht‘s sons Berthold and Theo Jr were in second place with a combined fortune of €16 billion.
But the co-founder of software company SAP, Hasso Plattner, saw the biggest gains in the past 12 months - the value of his assets increased by €900 million to nearly €6 billion.
The number of billionaires in Germany also reached a new peak in 2012, with 115 compared to 108 the previous year.
Meanwhile, the debt crisis wreaking havoc across the eurozone hasn’t shaken the super-rich. Germany’s wealthiest 100 citizens saw the value of their assets rise more than 4 percent – putting the figure closer to 2008’s record.
With the exception of those whose fortunes were made in the retail and financial sectors, nearly all branches of German business saw their wealthiest proprietors build on their riches.
But not all of the country’s billionaires had a good year. The family behind the bankrupt Schlecker drugstore chain was left with less than €40 million after seeing its fortunes drop by €1.92 billion, making it the biggest loser on this year’s list.
The Local/arp
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