Richest get richer – Switzerland’s top 300

The politically active Blocher family, with Christoph Blocher as its patriarch, made it into the top 10 Keystone

The wealthiest people in one of the world’s wealthiest nations - Switzerland, have increased their assets by CHF60 billion over the past year.

According to the latest edition of the German-language business magazine, Bilanz, the 300 richest residents of the country have assets totalling CHF674 billion. 

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The richest family on the list remains IKEA’s Kamprads with between CHF48 and 49 billion. While 91-year-old father Ingvar has retired to his homeland, Sweden, Bilanz says his sons Peter, Jonas and Mathias continue to run the business from Switzerland. 

Beer and donut king 

A distant second place with CHF28-29 billion goes to the Brazilian-Swiss Jorge Lemann. Lemann was recently behind the merger of fast food chains Burger King and Tim Hortons to form Restaurant Brands InternationalExternal link. 

The Hoffmann and Oeri families, with their holdings in the Roche pharmaceutical company, were the third richest, with an estimated CHF24-25 billion. 

Moving quickly up the list is the Safra family of Basel-based bank J. Safra SarasinExternal link, with assets of between CHF19 and 20 billion.

Business and politics 

The Blocher family also made it into the Top Ten, with CHF11-12 billion, increasing their assets by CHF4 billion, mainly attributable to the rising value of their plastics and chemicals group, Ems. 

Christoph Blocher is the figurehead of the conservative right and anti-European Swiss People’s Party, who also served a term as Swiss justice minister. His daughter, Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, who is Ems CEO, entered politics two years ago, and is now a member of the House of Representatives for the People’s Party. 

Among the ‘losers’ on the list is Hansjörg Wyss. The man who sold his orthopaedic company Synthes to Johnson & Johnson saw his assets shrink by CHF6-7 billion. This was in part thanks to his charitable side. 

He has committed himself to “The Giving PledgeExternal link” initiative launched by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates. Wyss’ philanthropy has benefitted universities, research institutions, landscape conservation and culture. 

Out of the more than 2,000 billionaires that “Forbes” counts worldwide, every 15th person on the list lives in Switzerland.

swissinfo.ch