Europe bucked the trend that dominated the 2016 Forbes
list of billionaires. Overall, the number of billionaires worldwide dropped
slightly to 1,810 from 1,826 last year and their aggregate wealth declined to
$6.48 trillion from $7.05 trillion in March 2015. In Europe, however, the number of billionaires
increased slightly to 489 from 482 a year ago. Their cumulative net worth did
decline in lockstep with the trend, falling to $1.83 trillion from $1.9
trillion a year ago.
Germany led the continent yet again. Its 120
billionaires, up from 103 last year, have an aggregate net worth of $469.1
billion. Russia followed with 77 billionaires, down 11 from last year due to
falling oil prices and a weakened ruble. France has 39 billionaires, 8 fewer
than a year ago; they are worth a combined $212 billion, $20 billion less than
last year. On the other side of the channel, the United Kingdom lost 3
ten-figure fortunes in the last year; it has 50 billionaires worth $161.8
billion in total.
Taken together, Europe’s billionaires have a diverse
portfolio of sectors and brands. Some have global empires, including Amancio Ortega’s Inditex, parent of
fashion retail chain Zara, and Liliane Bettencourt’s cosmetics powerhouse
L’Oreal.
Anyone who has shopped Zara (or any of Amancio Ortega’s
8 brands) has contributed in some way to Amancio Ortega’s $67 billion retail
empire. Ortega – the richest retailer of the world, and the second-richest man
in the world – also owns a host of other retail chains and brands:
Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and
Uterqüe. His net worth climbed $2.5 billion since 2015 due to gains in the
value of his extensive real estate holdings.
L’Oreal’s
Liliane Bettencourt, now the richest woman in the world with a fortune of $36.1
billion, is the 11th richest person in the world. In
May 2015, a French court found 8 people guilty of taking advantage of her
dementia. François-Marie Banier, a celebrity photographer, was sentenced to
three years and ordered to pay Bettencourt $172 million. His appeal will be in
May 2016.
German
consumers have been spending more at the supermarket, and both billionaire
branches of Albrecht family have benefited. Owners of the German discount chain
ALDI, Theo Albrecht Jr. and family own Aldi Nord, which has discount
supermarkets in northern Germany and owns the popular Trader Joe’s grocery
chain in the U.S.; his net worth climbed to $20.3 billion, up from $19 billion
a year ago. His cousin Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. own Aldi Sued,
with discount markets in southern Germany and about 1,500 Aldi supermarkets in
the U.S. as well. Heister & Karl Jr. are worth $25.9 billion, up from $21.3
billion in 2015. The Aldi chain was started by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht
Sr., who later split the empire in two; both of the brothers are deceased and
their children own the respective branches.
There
are 70 women billionaires in Europe, more than in the United States, which has
65. Susanne Klatten, third richest female billionaire in Europe, ranks
9th in the region (and 38th in the
world) with a fortune of $18.5 billion. Though the BMW stock dropped 30% over
the past year, Klatten’s net worth increased by $4 billion due to additional
BMW shares that were secretly transferred to her by her mother, Johanna Quandt,
in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The transfers didn’t come to light until after her
mother’s death in August 2015.
Other
female European billionaires include Miuccia Prada, candy empire Ferrero’s
Maria Franca Fissolo (widow of Michele Ferrero, who died in 2015), and Charlene
de Carvalho-Heineken, who controls 25% of the Dutch brewer Heineken.
Below is the full list of the richest in Europe:
1.
Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $67 B
Origin of Wealth: Zara
Citizenship: Spain
2.
Liliane Bettencourt
Net Worth: $36.1 B
Origin of Wealth: L’Oreal
Citizenship: France
3.
Bernard Arnault
Net Worth: $34 B
Origin of Wealth: LVMH
Citizenship: France
4.
Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr.
Net Worth: $25.9 B
Origin of Wealth: supermarkets
Citizenship: Germany
5.
Maria Franca Fissolo
Net Worth: $22.1 B
Origin of Wealth: Nutella, Chocolates
Citizenship: Italy
6.
Stefan Persson
Net Worth: $20.8 B
Origin of Wealth: H&M
Citizenship: Sweden
7.
Theo Albrecht
Net Worth: $20.3 B
Origin of Wealth: Aldi, Trader Joe’s
Citizenship: Germany
8.
Leonardo Del Vecchio
Net Worth: $18.7 B
Origin of Wealth: eyeglasses
Citizenship: Italy
9.
Susanne Klatten
Net Worth: $18.5 B
Origin of Wealth: BMW, pharmaceuticals
Citizenship: Germany
10.
Georg Schaeffler
Net Worth: $18.1 B
Origin of Wealth: ball bearings
Citizenship: Germany
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