In the land of corporations, assets from the financial industry rank below the rest. Nevertheless, German industry representatives have billions, with the owners of an insurance broker leading the field.
If you follow the latest rankings of Germany's «Manager Magazin» (in German, behind paywall), BMW heiress Susanne Klatten is the richest person in Switzerland's neighbor to the north with a fortune of 40.5 billion euros ($42.7 billion). After selling a heating division, the Viessmann family made the most significant leap in wealth last year, which now calls 13.5 billion euros its own.
In Germany, the nation of corporations, vast fortunes continue to be made with hardware, with the less tangible business of money a long way behind. Still, as the German «Private Banking Magazin» (in German) noted in its compilation, some billionaires can be found.
Billions from Insurance Sales
At the top of the podium are not bankers but Andreas and Reinfried Pohl Jr, heirs of Deutsche Vermoegensberatung (DVAG), one of Germany's leading insurance brokers. Through its Swiss subsidiary, Schweizer Vermoegensberatung (SVAG), it offers bank assurance services through cooperation agreements.
In the overall ranking of the 500 most affluent Germans, the Pohl brothers occupy 84th place with 2.9 billion euros. According to research by «Manager Magazin,» their assets grew by 100 million euros last year.
Germany's Oldest Private Bank
The old money of the von Berenberg family, Hans-Walter Peters, Hendrik Riehmer, Jan Philipp Reemtsma, and the family of Christian Erbprinz zu Fuerstenberg is also worthy of note. They are the principal owners of Germany's oldest private bank, founded in 1590, to various degrees. Their assets grew to 1.9 billion euros last year, enough for 129th place in the ranking.
Berenberg's branch was merged into the private bank Bergos in Switzerland in 2018. Among the owners around CEO Peter Raskin are men who have already made it to great wealth. Michael Pieper, owner of Artemis Group, through which he controls or has a stake in various companies such as Franke Group, Arbonia Forster, and Feintool. Bergos owners include Andreas Keller, co-owner of the DKSH trading company DKSH, and Andreas Jacobs, son of the late billionaire Klaus J. Jacobs.
Cologne Founders
Finally, in 133rd place are Bert Flossbach and Kurt von Storch, who founded their asset management company in Cologne in 1998. Today, Flossbach von Storch has more than 300 employees and manages assets of more than 80 billion euros, while the two founders' assets have grown to 1.8 billion euros.
Incidentally, Flossbach von Storch's board member since 2022 is a German still very well known in Switzerland: Axel Weber, the former president of Swiss UBS.
Swiss Heavyweights
However, the wealthiest Swiss financial professionals are well ahead of their German counterparts if one trusts the ranking of the Swiss business magazine «Bilanz» (in German, behind paywall) from 2022. Financier and BZ Bank founder Martin Ebner has 3.5 billion Swiss francs in assets. The family around Banque Edmond de Rothschild chair Ariane de Rothschild has around 3 billion Swiss francs, and Geneva's de Picciotto family (Union Bancaire Privée, UBP) up to 2.5 billion Swiss francs.
The assets of the Liechtenstein Princely Family, the Indian Hindujas, and the Brazilian Safras, all of whom have banks in Switzerland, are much more substantial.
