10 Richest People in Europe
The current economic recession affects the whole world and most of the private and public sectors are experiencing cuts in wages. However, the European continent provides safe heavens to its citizens despite being affected seriously by the economic crisis. We can witness this by analyzing the facts about the wealth of wealthy people living in Europe. They had never seen or experienced any downfall in their wealth even in the recent economic crisis. The worthy elites of Europe are concerned about the political stability of the continent as it can deteriorate their economic stability. When we talk about the world’s wealthy riches, Europe holds a strong place with a large number of elites. Let’s explore the list of top 10 richest people in Europe.
- Bernard Arnault
- Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
- Amancio Ortega
- Rodolphe Saade
- Giovanni Ferrero
- Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr.
- Francois Pinault
- Dieter Schwarz
- Alain Wertheimer
- Klaus Michael Kuehne
10 Klaus Michael Kuehne
Net Worth: $28.6 Billion
Company/Source: Transport/Logistics
Country: Germany
85 years old, Klaus-Michael Kühne scores 10th position in the list of 10 richest people in Europe. Klaus-Michael Kühne is the honorary chairman of an international transport company “Kuehne + Nagel International AG”, and owns its largest 53.3% stake. According to Forbes’ data, his wealth rapidly increased from $14.2B to $28.6B during the past 2 years. He is married but has no children so all his wealth will be managed by his charitable foundation “Kühne Stiftung” after his death.
9 Alain Wertheimer
Net Worth: $32.3 Billion
Company/Source: Chanel
Country: France
French billionaire businessman, Alain Wertheimer, is at #9 on our list of richest Europeans. He is currently residing in New York with his wife, Brigitte Laloum, and three children. His grandfather Pierre Wertheimer co-founded the luxury fashion brand “Chanel” with Gabrielle Bonheur (Coco Chanel) in 1910. Alain Wertheimer takes care of the family business along with his brother “Gerard Wertheimer” who looks after the watches division of the company. Bother brothers are also known for their horse racing stables in France and United States.
8 Dieter Schwarz
Net Worth: $33.3 Billion
Company/Source: Retail
Country: Germany
Dieter Schwarz is a German retailer with the store chains of Kaufland and Lidl which are generating revenue of more than $100 billion. Josef, the father of Schwarz was also a famous retailer. In 1930, he started a partnership with a fruit wholesaler Suedfruechte Grosshandle Lily & Co. Dieter inherited it from his father and in 1973, opened his first Lidl store and became the CEO of it after the death of his father in 1977. According to Forbes, Dieter Schwarz holds the 8th position on the list of richest people in Europe.
7 Francois Pinault
Net Worth: $33.5 Billion
Company/Source: Luxury Goods
Country: France
A French businessman Francois Pinault established a group of luxury brands with the name Kering in the year 1963. Initially, it was based on a wood and building materials firm. Pinault transforms his business by introducing French luxury goods. He maintained his position in the list of the wealthiest people in Europe with a net worth of $31.5 billion.
6 Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr.
Net Worth: $34.5 Billion
Company/Source: Supermarkets
Country: Germany
Karl Albrecht Jr. and Beate Heister are the kids of renowned German businessman Karl Albrecht Sr. who passed away at the age of 94 in 2014. After his death, his children Karl Albrecht Jr. and Beate Heister continued to run his business of discount supermarket in an impressive way and now they are also standing in the lane of the wealthy people in Europe with the net worth of $34.5 billion.
5 Giovanni Ferrero
Net Worth: $35 Billion
Company/Source: Nutella, Chocolates
Country: Italy
54 years old, Giovanni Ferrero is the son of an Italian giant businessman Michele Ferrero. He converted his confections corporate into a world giant. This company is best known for its various delicious chocolates including Tic Tac mints, Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, and Kinder. Ferrero shared the post of co-CEO with his brother named, Pietro, who died in 2011 of a heart attack. In 2017, he started to work in an executive chairman post after stepping down as CEO and the main reason behind this was to concentrate on the strategy of corporate. With his confections business, he gets succeeds to have a net worth of $35 billion which gives him 5th position among the list of richest people in Europe.
4 Rodolphe Saade
Net Worth: $41.4 Billion
Company/Source: Logistics
Country: France
52 years old Rodolphe Saade is the chairman of the world’s 3rd largest logistics company, CMA CGM Group. This container shipping company was founded in 1978 by his father, Jacques Saade. Rodolphe was born in Lebanon in 1970 and started his professional career in 1994 in New York. Now he takes care of the family business with his mother Naila, and siblings Tanya Saade, Zeenny, and Jacques Saade Jr. His net worth gradually increased in the past year from $10.9B to $41.4B.
3 Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $63.5 Billion
Company/Source: Zara
Country: Spain
A Spanish businessman, 82 years old, Amancio Ortega scores 3rd position on the list of 10 richest people in Europe with a net worth of $63.5 billion. He is known for his fashion chain named Zara. He started his career by working in a men’s shirt store as a delivery boy and later on in a tailor shop as an assistant. In 1975, he got the opportunity to start his business Inditex, with the collaboration of his ex-wife Rosalia Mera, who died in 2013. He owns around 60% of Madrid’s listed index, which has 75,000 outlets worldwide under the banner of 8 brands, which include Zara, Pull & Bear, and Massimo Dutti.
2 Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
Net Worth: $71.5 Billion
Company/Source: L’Oreal
Country: France
Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers is the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, who was a French Businesswoman and was at the top of the world’s richest women’s chart until her death in 2017. After her death, Francoise started the administration of L’Oréal as the chairwoman of the company. She and her family are one of the principal shareholders of the cosmetic brand L’Oréal and hold 33% shares of the brand. Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of Liliane, is the wealthiest woman in Europe with a net worth of $50.2 billion, after inheriting her mother’s wealth.
1 Bernard Arnault
Net Worth: $178.9 Billion
Company/Source: LVMH
Country: France
Citizen of France, Bernard Arnault is 69 years old, and a chief executive of an umbrella company of brands LVMH. He was born in an industrial family in March 1949. He started his professional career as an engineer with a construction company named Ferret-Savinel and on the basis of his excellent performance, he worked in different executive management posts. In 1978 he became the chairman of this company until 1984. After that, he started work at Financière Agache holding company which was going to lose. He reorganized it and turned it into a profitable organization. Arnault became LVMH’s majority shareholder in 1989. Now his empire of brands covered 70 luxury items including champagne house Moët & Chandon, Sephora, and Louis Vuitton. He tops the list of richest people in Europe with a net worth of $78.4 billion.
Source: Forbes
It’s interesting to see that Klaus Michael Kuehne made it onto the list with his success in logistics.
I can’t believe that Francoise Bettencourt Meyers’s wealth is so much greater than everyone else’s on this list.
It’s great to see that Francois Pinault’s hard work in the fashion industry has paid off.
It’s interesting to see that someone like Rodolphe Saade made it onto the list.
It’s no surprise to see Amancio Ortega on this list, his company is huge.
It’s great to see that hard work in the retail industry has paid off for Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht Jr.
I’m a little disappointed to see that there aren’t more entrepreneurs on this list.
I’m a little disappointed to see so few women on this list. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the only one.
It is definitely disappointing to see such a lack of representation for women on this list. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is a great example of a successful woman in business, but it would be great to see more diversity on the list.
I’m a little disappointed to see that there aren’t more entrepreneurs on this list.
I completely understand your disappointment. Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in driving innovation and economic growth, so it would be great to see more of them on this list.