Forbes list 2022
These are the 30 richest Germans – 19-year-old Karlsruher is the youngest billionaire in the world
The logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne has risen to become the second richest German billionaire in the past two years
© Axel Heimken / Picture Alliance
The current Forbes list provides information about the wealth of the richest people in the world. With Kevin David Lehmann, the youngest billionaire in the world comes from Germany. Company founder Dieter Schwarz remains the richest German.
This article first appeared on RTL.de.
Despite the Corona crisis and the Ukraine war: the fortunes of the super-rich continue to grow – also in Germany. The current Forbes list of the richest people in the world shows who made it to the top. The Corona vaccine Biontech, developed in Germany, catapulted three Germans into the top 30 richest people in the country. But there are other billionaires who have become even richer despite the crises.
Elon Musk is the richest person in the world
However, the richest German by far cannot keep up with Tesla founder Elon Musk. According to the Forbes list, Musk has a net worth of €200.8 billion. Meanwhile, clearly behind: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose fortune is estimated at around 156.8 billion euros. In fourth place is Microsoft founder Bill Gates with an estimated fortune of around 118.3 billion euros. The richest Europeans are Bernard Arnault and family, who have brought it to around 144.9 billion euros with their luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Sephora). This makes them the third richest people in the world.
Lidl founder remains the richest German
In contrast, the fortune of Dieter Schwarz, whose Schwarz Group includes the discounter Lidl and the supermarket chain Kaufland, seems almost modest: the gray eminence of the German economy has assets of around 43.2 billion euros. The 82-year-old is the richest German.
Klaus-Michael Kühne has made a significant leap forward. For years, the entrepreneur has tended to make headlines as a controversial patron of the Hamburg sports club. His logistics company Kühne + Nagel was apparently able to benefit from the exploding freight costs during the corona pandemic. While the assets of Klaus-Michael Kühne were around 13 billion euros in the first Corona year 2020, they grew by leaps and bounds to 24.1 billion euros within a year and were able to grow again significantly to 34.2 billion euros in 2022. With this fabulous increase in wealth, the 84-year-old is the second richest German according to the Forbes list.
And then there are three Germans who became rich thanks to the Corona vaccine Biontech, which was developed in Germany. Best known is Biontech boss Ugur Sahin, who came in 28th with an estimated fortune of 4.9 billion euros. However, the identical twins Thomas Strüngmann and Andreas Strüngmann have become even richer thanks to Biontech. In 2008, the two brothers took a stake in Biontech with around 180 million dollars, and in Corona year 2020 they owned around 50 percent of the company. Thanks to the corona vaccine, the twin brothers have assets of 11 billion euros each.
These are the richest Germans in 2022
- Dieter Schwarz (Lidl, Kaufland): 43.2 billion euros
- Klaus-Michael Kuehne (Kuehne + Nagel, logistics): 34.2 billion euros
- Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht junior (Aldi Süd): 33.7 billion euros
- Susanne Klatten (BMW): 22.3 billion euros
- Stefan Quandt (BMW): 19 billion euros
- Reinhold Würth (Würth assembly material & tools): 17.4 billion euros
- Theo Albrecht junior & family (Aldi Nord, Traders Joe): 17.2 billion euros
- Thomas Strüngmann & family (Biontech): 11 billion euros
- Andreas Strüngmann & family (Biontech): 11 billion euros
- Alexander Otto (Otto Group): 10 billion euros
- Andreas von Bechtolsheim (Google): 9.1 billion euros
- Michael Otto (Otto Group): 8.2 billion euros
- Friedhelm Loh (Friedhelm Loh Group): 8.2 billion euros
- Francine von Finck & Familie (investor): 7.7 billion euros
- Georg Schaeffler (Schaeffler Group, auto parts): 7.4 billion euros
- Hasso Plattner & Family (SAP): 7.2 billion euros
- Horst Julius Pudwill (Techtronic Industries): 6.3 billion euros
- Axel Oberwelland (August Storck KG, confectionery): 6 billion euros
- Juergen Blickle (SEW-Eurodrive, auto parts): 5.9 billion euros
- Renate Reimann-Hass (JAB Holding Company, consumer goods): 5.3 billion euros
- Stefan Reimann-Andersen JAB Holding Company, consumer goods): 5.3 billion euros
- Matthias Reimann-Andersen (JAB Holding Company, consumer goods): 5.3 billion euros
- Wolfgang Reimann (JAB Holding Company, consumer goods): 5.3 billion euros
- Ludwig Merckle (HeidelbergCement): 5.3 billion euros
- Rainer Blickle (SEW-Eurodrive, auto parts): 5.2 billion euros
- Erich Wesjohann (EW Group, food): 5.1 billion euros
- Ugur Sahin (Biontech): 4.9 billion euros
- Dietmar Hopp & family (SAP): 4.9 billion euros
- Wolfgang Marguerre & family (Octapharma): 4.8 billion euros
- Maximilian Viessmann (Viessmann Group, heating and air conditioning technology): 4.6 billion euros
The youngest billionaire in the world comes from Germany
The youngest billionaire in the world is also from Germany. Kevin David Lehmann is only 19 years old, but the young man already owns 50 percent of the drugstore chain dm. His father Günther Lehmann already took a stake in the drugstore chain dm in 1973 and acquired 50 percent of the company shares, which he passed on to his son early on. Kevin David Lehmann’s fortune is estimated at around 2.2 billion euros. On the Forbes list of the richest people in the world, he ranks 1292. Will he be the richest German in a few years?
