Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Eight Swiss in Bloomberg billionaire ‘rich list’ 

luxury restaurant terrace
While rich Swiss residents figure in Bloomberg's top 500 world's wealthiest, there are nine Americans in the top ten slot. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

In the latest version of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, eight Swiss or Swiss-resident names figure among the 500 richest people in the world. 

The richest of the Alpine-based billionaires is Geneva-based Ernesto Bertarelli, who according to his own self-description is a “Swiss entrepreneur active in the fields of business, finance, sport and philanthropy”.  

Bertarelli is worth some $20.4 billion (CHF18.4 billion), according to the Bloomberg list, where he sits in 92nd place overall. 

Behind him in 241st spot comes fellow Swiss-based Italian Gianluigi Aponte, whose $10 billion fortune stems mainly from his ownership of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, headquartered in Geneva. 

Then there is Hansjörg Wyss (280th), Blocher siblings Magdalena Martullo and Rahel (334th and 342nd), and various shareholding families of pharma giant Roche: André Hoffmann (430th), Vera Michalski-Hoffmann (453rd) and Maja Hoffmann (454th).  

Americans in top slot

Americans take nine of the top ten spots on the list, with Jeff Bezos topping the ranking with $190 billion. After Frenchman Bernard Arnault in second place, come the trio of Elon Musk (who has “slipped” in recent months due to the falling share price of Tesla), Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

Switzerland’s own unofficial “rich list” is usually drawn up by the Bilanz magazine, who in their 2020 edition put at the top of the list the family of Swedish-born (and deceased) Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, with CHF56 billion. The Kamprad family is followed by the Hoffmans and Oeris, who control Roche (CHF29-30 billion), Gérard Wertheimer, the main shareholder of Chanel (CHF25 billion), the Safra family, active in the field of private banks and real estate (CHF21-22 billion), and the Blocher family (CHF15-16 billion). 

While these fortunes are counted in billions, there are also a considerable number of millionaires in Switzerland. These numbered 438,000 in 2019, according to the Capgemini World Wealth Report 2020.

More


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR