The richest people in Europe. Forbes named the richest people in Europe

The richest people in Europe are a very diverse social group. Some of them got theirs state inherited from centuries-old dynasties, while others are crafty entrepreneurs who rose from the very bottom. There are rich people from Eastern European countries who made their fortunes recently, after the collapse Soviet Union, there are industrialists from Scandinavia with money earned from traditional industries, and there are Western European wealthy people with aristocratic family connections.

Based on the Forbes list of the richest people, Business Insider found out who the richest person in each European country is and ranked them in order of increasing capital. Some countries did not have anyone on the Forbes list, so not all European countries are represented on the list.

Juergen Hasenkopf/REX/Shutterstock

Romania: Ion Ciriac, $1 billion

The richest man in Romania is nicknamed "The Bulldozer of Brasov." Ciriac is a former professional tennis and hockey player who made his fortune after the fall of communism in Romania in 1989 through a series of successful investments in banking business, retail trade and insurance.

Simone Comi/MM Press/REX/Shutterstock

Monaco: Tatiana Santo Domingo (Casiraghi), $2.3 billion

The heiress to the beer empire, Tatiana Santo Domingo, is the richest citizen of Monaco and a member of the princely Casiraghi family. She inherited most of her capital from her late grandfather, who sold the Colombian brewing company Bavaria to SABMiller in 2005 for several billion dollars. Tatiana is married to Prince Andrea Casiraghi of Hanover, fourth in line to the throne of Monaco.

Finland: Antti Herlin, $3.6 billion

The richest man in Finland made his money in an unusual way - in the escalator and elevator business. He is the great-grandson of Harald Herlin, who bought the engineering company KONE in the 1920s.

Poland: Sebastian and Dominika Kulczyk, $3.6 billion

The brother and sister are the heirs of their father, Jan Kulczyk, who died in 2015. They have managed their father's portfolio of assets and investments since 2014.

Portugal: Americo Amorim, $4.6 billion

Amorim made his billions through the company Corticeira Amorim, which is the world's largest cork manufacturer and was founded by his grandfather. He also has businesses in Angola, a former Portuguese colony, and other European countries.

Isopix/REX/Shutterstock

Belgium: Albert Frere, $4.6 billion

Frere is an investor who made his fortune in steel in the 1970s and has since invested in a number of other sectors of the economy. He holds the title of Baron, granted to him by the King of Belgium.

Norway: Odd Reitan, $8.5 billion

Reitan made his capital in retail and department stores, founding REMA 1000, the country's largest supermarket chain. In 2012, he wrote a book in which he imagined what would happen if the Norwegian king appointed him ruler of Norway.

IAN MCILGORM/REX/Shutterstock

Switzerland: Ernesto Bertarelli, $8.5 billion

Bertarelli became rich by selling the pharmaceutical company Serono, founded by his grandfather. Now his capital and investments are mainly managed by Waypoint Capital.

REX/Shutterstock

Cyprus: Jon Fredriksen, $9.9 billion

Fredriksen would have been Norway's richest man had he remained a citizen, but he is now a citizen of Cyprus and one of the most powerful oil tycoons. He made large sums of money transporting oil during the Iran-Iraq War.

Netherlands: Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, $11.7 billion

The richest man in the Netherlands is the heiress of the Heineken brewing company. Her grandfather Gerard Adrian Heineken founded the company at the end of the 19th century. Charlene is now on the board of directors of Heineken.

Francis Dean/REX/Shutterstock

Denmark: Kield Kirk Christiansen, $12.7 billion

Christiansen owes his capital to Lego. He is the grandson of Ole Kirk Christiansen, who founded the toy company and led it for a quarter of a century until 2004.

Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock

UK: Shri and Gopi Hinduja, $14.6 billion

The UK-based pair of brothers (pictured: Gopi and his wife) are half of the so-called “fantastic four” - relatives in their 70s who run the Hinduja Group, a conglomerate headquartered in London. The company owns Indian automaker Ashok Leyland.

Joan Valls/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Austria: Dietrich Mateschitz, $15.8 billion

The founder of Red Bull is the richest man in Austria, still owning about half of its shares. If you're having trouble studying, don't worry: Mateschitz took 10 years to graduate from university.

IBL/REX/Shutterstock

Sweden: Stefan Persson, $20 billion

Persson is the largest shareholder of the European chain of stores fashionable clothes H&M. The company was founded by his father Erling Persson, and his son Karl-Johan Persson is now CEO.

Germany: Georg Scheffler, $20.1 billion

Georg Scheffler owns 80% of the shares industrial company Schaeffler Group, the remaining 20% ​​belongs to his mother. The company produces rolling bearings for the automotive, aerospace and industrial industries.

Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Italy: Maria Franca Fissolo (left) and Giovanni Ferrero, $24.9 billion

The wife and son of the late Michele Ferrero owe their wealth to Ferrero SpA, which produces confectionery. The company is named after their last name, and Giovanni runs it.

France: Liliane Bettencourt, $38.5 billion

Bettencourt is the main person at L'Oreal, as well as the richest woman in Europe. She and her children own 33% of the shares of the cosmetics giant. Bettencourt suffers from dementia, and therefore her children are now in charge of the business.

Alan Davidson/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock

Spain: Amancio Ortega, $71.1 billion

Ortega is a Spanish businessman who founded the clothing manufacturer Inditex. The group of companies is known for its chain stores Zara clothes, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho and others. Ortega is second richest man in the world.

Among the richest people in Europe there are a variety of personalities. Some of them inherited their money from previous generations going back centuries, while others come from the bottom and worked their way up through their own efforts. Billionaires from Eastern Europe made their fortunes after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Scandinavian capitalists have generations of factory owners and industrialists behind them, and in Western Europe there are several families connected by blood ties to ancient royal families. Here is a list of the richest people from different countries, starting with the owner of a measly billion dollars and ending with the richest man in Europe. The rating is based on Forbes lists. Some countries are not mentioned because they did not have a rich person worthy of being on the list, so they are not mentioned.

Romania. Ion Tsiriac. $1 billion

God's man Ru-we-nii from-ve-walls under the nickname "Bul-do-zer from Bra-sho-va." Former pro-fes-si-o-nal-ten-ni-sist and hok-ke-ist sko-lo-til state after the collapse of the com-mu-ni-sti-che-sko -th regime in Russia in 1989, successfully investing money in the banking sector, retail trade and -ho-va-nie.

Monaco. Tatiana Casiraghi. $2.3 billion

On-next-ni-tsa pi-vo-va-ren-noy im-per-rii Ta-tya-na San-to-Do-min-go - god-ga-tei-shay resident-ni-tsa Mo-na-ko and a member of the princely family of Ka-zi-ra-gi. The main part of her co-statement she un-followed from the de-dush-ki, which in 2005 sold the Bavaria brewing concern in Columbia that was located above him for a few million dollars. She is married to Prince Andrea Ka-zi-ra-gi Gan-no-ver-sky, who is fourth in line -to the throne of the principality of Mo-na-ko.

Ukraine. Rinat Akhmetov. $3.5 billion

Rinat Akh-metov was born in Donets in the Shah-te-ra family and came into business in the 1990s. Since the early 2000s, he was considered one of the most godly people of Ukraine. His group “System Capital Management” unites enterprises in coal, mining, and coke production. mi-che-skoy, metal-lur-gi-che-skoy and pipe-from-ras-lyakh, as well as electric-energy-ge-ti-ke, tele-kom-mu-ni -ka-tsi-yah and a number of others. Starting in 2014, the war in the eastern part of the country made-la-la Ah-me-to-va is about three times poorer, but he is still - several times greater than other Ukrainian oligarchs.

Finland. Antti Herlin. $3.6 billion

The source of the story of the man in Finland is quite unusual: his company is behind him -et-xia about-from-the-water-lift-tov and es-ka-la-to-ditch. Antti Her-lin is the great-grandson of Haral-du Her-li-nu, who acquired the KONE company in mid-1920 -s.

Poland. Dominika and Sebastian Kulczyk. $3.6 billion

Brother and sister Kul-chi-ki inherited their fortune from their father Ian, who passed away in 2015. They started managing his in-ve-sti-tsi-ya-mi and ak-ti-va-mi back in 2014.

Portugal. Amerigo Amorim. $4.6 billion

Amo-rim for-ra-bo-tal his mil-li-ar-dy blah-go-da-rya os-no-van-noy his grandfather of the company Corticeira Amorim, largest-she-mu in in the world about the traffic jams. In addition, he has companies in the former Port-tu-Gal colony of An-go-le and a number of European countries.

Belgium. Albert Frere. $4.6 billion

Frere is an investor who pioneered steel in the 1970s and then invested money in a variety of industries. The King of Belgium gave him the title of ba-ro-na.

Norway. Odd Reitan. $8.5 billion

Rei-tan is the os-no-va-te-lem and owner of the largest chain of supermarkets in Norway REMA 1000. In 2012 year, he wrote a book in which he proposed to designate him as the lord of Norway and described his book future activity in the quality of the country.

Switzerland. Ernesto Bertarelli. $8.5 billion

Ber-ta-rel-li received a lot of money by selling the pharmaceutical company Serono, founded by his grandfather. Most of its assets and investments are now managed by Waypoint Capital.

Cyprus. John Fredricksen. $9.9 billion

Fred-rik-sen would have been the greatest man of Nor-ve-gia if he had not abandoned his birth, but now he is a citizen -nin of Cyprus and one of the most powerful oil magnates in the world. He made a huge amount of money on the trans-port of oil during the Iran-Iraq war.

Netherlands. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken. $11.7 billion

Bo-ga-tay-shay resident of Ni-der-lan-dov appears on-the-next pi-vo-va-ren-no-go con-cer- on Heineken. Her grandfather Gerard Ad-ri-en Hey-ne-ken founded this company at the end of the 19th century. Char-len de Carva-llo-Hey-ne-ken so-sto-it in so-ve-te di-rek-to-ditch con-cer-na.

Denmark. Kjell Kirk Kristansen. $12.7 billion

Source of bla-go-so-sto-ya-niya Kri-sti-an-se-na - Lego company. He is the grandson of the Ole Kirk Kri-stan-se-nu company and headed the Lego Group for a quarter of a century up to 2004.

Russia. Leonid Mikhelson. $14.4 billion

The most expensive ak-ti-you business, for the first line in the list of Russian Forbes, is pa -Ke-you shares of gas-to-be-va-yu-shchey company No-vat-ek (24.8%) and oil-te-hi-mi-che-sko-go-hol- din-ga Sibur (43.2%).

United Kingdom. Shri and Gopi Hinduja. $14.6 billion

Shri and Gopis, who live in Ve-li-ko-bri-ta-nii, form the so-called “Fan-ta” -sti-che-che-skoy te-ver-ki" - having divided the eighth of the Hindu brethren, who co-rule Corp-po-ra-tsi-ey Hinduja Group with headquarters in London. The company owns the Indian car Ashok Leyland.

Austria. Dietrich Mateschitz. $12.9 billion

The founder of the Red Bull company is the god of Austria and still owns It has almost half of the company's shares. If studying is not easy for you, don’t worry: they say that Ma-te-shi-ts took 10 years to graduate from university. ver-si-tet.

Sweden. Stefan Persson. $20 billion

Pers-son is the largest joint-stock company of H&M, a huge European retail retail chain. gov-le clothes. The company was founded by his father Er-ling Persson, and it is now headed by Stefan's son Karl-Johan.

Germany. Georg Scheffler. $20.7 billion

Ge-or-gu Chef-fleur owns 80% of the industrial company Schaeffler Group, and the remaining 20% ​​is owned by him mother. The company produces pod-ship-ni-ki for cars, cos-mi-che-ap-pa-ra-tov and others ob-ru-do-va-niya.

Italy. Maria Franca Fissolo and Giovanni Ferrero (pictured below). $24.9 billion

The wife and son of Mi-ke-le Ferr-re-ro owe their wealth to the flag of the con-di-ter industry of Ferrero SpA , but the name of this family. The head of the company is Jo-van-ni.

France. Lilian Bettencourt. $38.7 billion

Next to the company L "Oreal is the most powerful woman in Europe. Together with her children she owns 33% of the shares of cos-me-ti-che-go-gi-gan-ta. Mu ak-ti-va-mi is controlled now by her children.

Spain. Amancio Ortega. $71.5 billion

Or-te-ga is a Spanish pre-pri-ni-ma-tel, the main part of the Inditex company, which is under several to the networks of ma-ga-zi-novs, merchants selling clothes. The most famous of them is the Zara chain. Aman-sio Or-te-ga is the second in the list of gods of the world.

World financial crisis noticeably “shortened” the list of the richest people on the planet, published annually by the American magazine Forbes. Compared to the list of 2007, which included more than 1,100 names, the list of rich people last year was reduced by almost a third - to 793 names. In dollar terms, the total losses of the participants in the famous rating amounted to almost 2 trillion greenbacks.

Bill Gates is back on top

According to the publication's rating, published on March 11, the title of the richest person in the world in 2008 again belongs to the founder and owner of Microsoft, Bill Gates. The long-time leader of the ranking, Gates, whose fortune is estimated at $40 billion, lost the first position last year to the owner of the American holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett.

However, as time has shown, not for long. IN current list Forbes Buffett is again in second place, as he owns “only” $37 billion. The bronze medal for accumulated wealth belongs to Mexican media tycoon Carlos Slim. His personal fortune is estimated at 35 billion.

In addition, the owners of the German budget supermarket chain Aldi, brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, entered the Forbes top ten, taking 6th and 9th places, respectively. Despite the fact that last year the crisis eased Karl's accounts by almost $5.5 billion, the remaining $21.5 billion was enough to break into the top 10. Forbes estimated Theo's capital at 18.8 billion.

Every third person inherited a fortune

The list of German billionaires decreased by five people over the year to 54 names. The richest woman in Germany is 46-year-old Susanne Klatten, who owns a large stake in the BMW automobile concern. Her fortune is estimated at approximately $10 billion. The youngest rich man is 25-year-old German Albert Prince von Thurn und Taxis. Owning $1.6 billion, he took 318th place in the ranking. Like every third person on the list of rich people, the German aristocrat inherited a fortune.

The fortunes of billionaires from Russia and India declined significantly during the crisis. The number of Russians in the Forbes magazine ranking decreased by two-thirds to 32 people compared to last year, and the list of Indians was reduced by half.

The richest people in Europe are a very diverse social group. Some of them inherited their wealth from centuries-old dynasties, while others are savvy entrepreneurs who rose from the very bottom. There are rich people from Eastern Europe who made their fortunes recently after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are industrialists from Scandinavia with money earned from traditional industries, and there are Western European wealthy people with aristocratic family ties.

Based on the Forbes list of the richest people, Business Insider found out who the richest person in each European country is and ranked them in order of increasing capital. Some countries did not have anyone on the Forbes list, so not all European countries are represented on the list.

(Total 19 photos)

Juergen Hasenkopf/REX/Shutterstock

Romania: Ion Ciriac, $1 billion

The richest man in Romania is nicknamed "The Bulldozer of Brasov." Ciriac is a former professional tennis and hockey player who made his fortune after the fall of communism in Romania in 1989 through a series of successful investments in banking, retail and insurance.

Simone Comi/MM Press/REX/Shutterstock

Monaco: Tatiana Santo Domingo (Casiraghi), $2.3 billion

The heiress to the beer empire, Tatiana Santo Domingo, is the richest citizen of Monaco and a member of the princely Casiraghi family. She inherited most of her capital from her late grandfather, who sold the Colombian brewing company Bavaria to SABMiller in 2005 for several billion dollars. Tatiana is married to Prince Andrea Casiraghi of Hanover, fourth in line to the throne of Monaco.

Finland: Antti Herlin, $3.6 billion

The richest man in Finland made his money in an unusual way - in the escalator and elevator business. He is the great-grandson of Harald Herlin, who bought the engineering company KONE in the 1920s.

Poland: Sebastian and Dominika Kulczyk, $3.6 billion

The brother and sister are the heirs of their father, Jan Kulczyk, who died in 2015. They have managed their father's portfolio of assets and investments since 2014.

Portugal: Americo Amorim, $4.6 billion

Amorim made his billions through the company Corticeira Amorim, which is the world's largest cork manufacturer and was founded by his grandfather. He also has businesses in Angola, a former Portuguese colony, and other European countries.

Isopix/REX/Shutterstock

Belgium: Albert Frere, $4.6 billion

Frere is an investor who made his fortune in steel in the 1970s and has since invested in a number of other sectors of the economy. He holds the title of Baron, granted to him by the King of Belgium.

Norway: Odd Reitan, $8.5 billion

Reitan made his capital in retail and department stores, founding REMA 1000, the country's largest supermarket chain. In 2012, he wrote a book in which he imagined what would happen if the Norwegian king appointed him ruler of Norway.

IAN MCILGORM/REX/Shutterstock

Switzerland: Ernesto Bertarelli, $8.5 billion

Bertarelli became rich by selling the pharmaceutical company Serono, founded by his grandfather. Now his capital and investments are mainly managed by Waypoint Capital.

REX/Shutterstock

Cyprus: Jon Fredriksen, $9.9 billion

Fredriksen would have been Norway's richest man had he remained a citizen, but he is now a citizen of Cyprus and one of the most powerful oil tycoons. He made large sums of money transporting oil during the Iran-Iraq War.

Netherlands: Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, $11.7 billion

The richest man in the Netherlands is the heiress of the Heineken brewing company. Her grandfather Gerard Adrian Heineken founded the company at the end of the 19th century. Charlene is now on the board of directors of Heineken.

Francis Dean/REX/Shutterstock

Denmark: Kield Kirk Christiansen, $12.7 billion

Christiansen owes his capital to Lego. He is the grandson of Ole Kirk Christiansen, who founded the toy company and led it for a quarter of a century until 2004.

Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock

UK: Shri and Gopi Hinduja, $14.6 billion

The UK-based pair of brothers (pictured: Gopi and his wife) are half of the so-called “fantastic four” - relatives in their 70s who run the Hinduja Group, a conglomerate headquartered in London. The company owns Indian automaker Ashok Leyland.

Joan Valls/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Austria: Dietrich Mateschitz, $15.8 billion

The founder of Red Bull is the richest man in Austria, still owning about half of its shares. If you're having trouble studying, don't worry: Mateschitz took 10 years to graduate from university.

IBL/REX/Shutterstock

Sweden: Stefan Persson, $20 billion

Persson is the largest shareholder of the European fashion chain H&M. The company was founded by his father Erling Persson, and his son Karl-Johan Persson is now CEO.

Germany: Georg Scheffler, $20.1 billion

Georg Schaeffler owns 80% of the shares of the industrial company Schaeffler Group, the remaining 20% ​​belongs to his mother. The company produces rolling bearings for the automotive, aerospace and industrial industries.

Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Italy: Maria Franca Fissolo (left) and Giovanni Ferrero, $24.9 billion

The wife and son of the late Michele Ferrero owe their wealth to the company Ferrero SpA, which produces confectionery products. The company is named after their last name, and Giovanni runs it.

France: Liliane Bettencourt, $38.5 billion

Bettencourt is the top person at L'Oreal and is also the richest woman in Europe. She and her children own 33% of the cosmetics giant. Bettencourt suffers from dementia, so her children now run the affairs.

Alan Davidson/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock

Spain: Amancio Ortega, $71.1 billion

Ortega is a Spanish businessman who founded the clothing manufacturer Inditex. The group of companies is known for the clothing chains Zara, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho and others. Ortega is the second richest man in the world.