Wealth of super-rich in Switzerland hardly dented by stock market turmoil

One of the big winners on this year's super rich is the owner of luxury group Chanel. Gérard Wertheimer joined the top ten richest in Switzerland for the first time. Keystone / Steffen Schmidt

The 300 richest people in Switzerland saw their cumulative wealth drop for the first time in 13 years by a mere by 0.1%. But they still have enough money to distribute CHF100 ($105) to each person on the planet.

The Kamprad brothers, heirs to the Swedish furniture firm IKEA, maintain their position on the top of the annual rankingExternal link of the 300 richest in Switzerland compiled by finance magazine Bilanz. The three brothers, who all have Swiss passports, have held the top spot for the last 21 years with assets worth CHF54 billion in 2022.

Gérard Wertheimer, who owns luxury house Chanel with his brother Alain and resides in Geneva, comes in second place with CHF38 billion, making the top ten for the first time thanks to a boom in the luxury goods market. Coming in third are the 15 heirs to the Basel-based pharmaceutical firm Roche with assets worth CHF30.5 billion.

This was the first time the super-rich saw their cumulative wealth drop since the financial crisis in 2008-2009. Total assets for the 300 richest in Switzerland dropped by a mere 0.1% from around CHF821.8 billion to CHF820.9 billion, give or take a few billions. To make it in the list, you have to have assets worth CHF100 million. The top ten alone have assets amounting to CHF252 billion. 

The decline is due to the turmoil in stock markets. “At the same time, it is surprising that the decline was not stronger given the tense stock market, the war and the economic situation,” writes BilanzExternal link.

While some lost billions in the face of the tumbling stock markets, others gained billions. Among the winners are commodities and energy traders, who were able to benefit from rising oil and gas prices marked by the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.

Torbjörn Törnqvist, the CEO of the largest liquefied natural gas trader Gunvor, saw his wealth increase by CHF1.5 billion thanks to the price explosion and market volatility. Another trader and former longtime CEO of Glencore, Ivan Glasenberg, also received a boost of CHF2 billion. The shipping company family Aponte, owners of Mediterranean Shipping Company in Geneva, is new in the top ten, with assets increasing by CHF11 billion to CHF20 billion. The sea freight business has been booming since Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted at many ports.

Some of those who saw their assets drop includes Lucerne lift manufacturer Schindler as well as the Blocher family, owners of Ems-Chemie. Russian investor Guennadi Timchenko, who lives on Lake Geneva, also saw his wealth fall as his main Russian assets dropped 40% in value due to sanctions. Despite the dip, he still came out in 12th place.

The super-rich still have little to complain about when it comes to funds. Wealth of the super-rich has more than quadrupled since 1989, while gross domestic product has only slightly more than doubled.