According to the 2023 edition of Bilan magazine’s ranking of Switzerland’s 300 wealthiest people, the Wertheimer family’s fortune is expected to reach between CHF41 billion and CHF42 billion ($46.5 billion-$47.5 billion), CHF 9 billion more than the 2022 rankings.
With a fortune of CHF26 billion-CHF27 billion, the descendants of Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, founder of the pharmaceuticals business Roche, come in second place. Their wealth fell by CHF4 billion as the pharmaceuticals giant’s market capitalisation fell, but the family shareholder pool owns more than 65% of the bearer shares.
Klaus-Michael Kühne, the honorary chairman and biggest stakeholder (54% of Kühne Nagel), who also owns over 30% of the German shipping business Hapag-Lloyd, maintains his third-place position. His net worth of between CHF24 billion and CHF26 billion climbed by over CHF4 billion, owing primarily to the transport and logistics giant’s thriving business and share price.
The Safra family, located in Basel and Geneva and active mostly in banking but also in real estate and agribusiness, continues in fourth position, with a net worth of CHF22-CHF23 billion. The Apponte family, proprietors of the shipping behemoth Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), is ranked sixth.
In sixth place is the Russian Andrey Melnichenko (assets ranging from CHF16 billion to CHF17 billion), who is based in the affluent St Moritz and owns the Suek business, one of the world’s largest coal miners. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the businessman has been sanctioned in Western countries, including Switzerland.
Jorge Lemann, who has dual Brazilian and Swiss nationality and has lived in Rapperswil on the banks of Lake Zurich for over twenty years, is the sixth wealthiest Swiss inhabitant. His company 3G Capital, which he co-owns with long-time colleagues Marcel Telles and Carlos Sicupera, has been struck by a scandal involving the fabrication of the Brazilian distribution group Americanas’ balance sheet.
The octogenarian’s assets have fallen by nearly a billion francs to CHF15 billion-CHF16 billion, after he also represented Switzerland in the Davis Cup tennis event. His assets include Kraft Heinz, Burger King, and AB inBev, the world’s largest beer corporation.