Top 10 Richest People in Europe 2021

Europe’s billionaires have thrived during the pandemic year.

#10 Dieter Schwarz

$33.8 billion (Germany)

Dieter Schwarz (born 24 September 1939) is a German billionaire businessman and owner of the Schwarz-Gruppe.

He is the former chairman and CEO of the supermarket chain Lidl and the hypermarket chain Kaufland.

Schwarz is known to be very protective of his privacy, to the extent that no media recordings of Schwarz exist, and he refuses any interview.

Meanwhile, just three photos of him exist in the press or the image search of Google.

#9 Gerard Wertheimer

$34.3 billion (France)

Gérard Paul Philippe Wertheimer (born 17 April 1951) is a French billionaire businessman based in New York City and Geneva, who owns Chanel in partnership with his brother, Alain

Wertheimer is married, with two children, and lives in New York City and Switzerland.

Gérard and his brother own vineyards in France and Napa Valley, California.

#8 Alain Wertheimer

$34.3 billion (France)

Alain Wertheimer (born 28 September 1948) is a French billionaire businessman, based in New York City. He owns a controlling interest in Chanel, with his brother Gérard. (see #9)

Based in France, the Wertheimer brothers own French vineyards including Château Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux, and Château Canon in Saint-Émilion.

Both brothers are enthusiastic equestrians.

#7 Klaus-Michael Kuehne

$34.4 billion (Germany)

Klaus-Michael Kühne (born 2 June 1937) is a German billionaire businessman. He is the honorary chairman and majority owner (53.30%) of the international transport company Kühne + Nagel

In 1963, he joined his father Alfred Kühne (1895–1981) as a junior partner and has lived in Switzerland since 1975, in the city Schindellegi, the location of the Kühne + Nagel headquarters.

He became CEO of the company in 1996.

#6 Giovanni Ferrero

$35.9 billion (Italy)

Giovanni Ferrero (born 21 September 1964) is an Italian businessman. He assumed the leadership of the confectionery company Ferrero SpA after the death of his brother Pietro Ferrero in 2011.

On completing his studies, he returned to Italy to work in the family company. In 1997 he became joint CEO of Ferrero together with his brother Pietro.

#5 Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr

$41.5 billion (Germany)

Beate Heister (born 5 October 1951) is a German billionaire heiress. She is one of the two children of Karl Albrecht, who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi

Karl Hans Albrecht Jr. (born 1948 in Essen) is a German billionaire

Beate Heister is married to Peter Heister, and they have six children and Karl Albrecht Jr is married to Gabriele Mertes, and they have no children

#4 François Pinault

$57 billion (France)

François Pinault (born 21 August 1936) is a French billionaire businessman, founder of the luxury group Kering and the investment company Artémis.

Pinault started his business in the timber industry in the early 1960s. Taken public in 1988, the company invested in specialized retail business and changed its name to PPR.

By the end of 1999, PPR shifted towards luxury and fashion. In 2003, he passed on the management of his companies to his elder son François-Henri.

#3 Amancio Ortega

$88.4 billion (Spain)

Amancio Ortega Gaona(born 28 March 1936) is a Spanish billionaire businessman. He is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories shops.

Ortega is very private about his personal life, as of 2012 he has only given three interviews to journalists.

Until 1999, no photograph of Ortega had ever been published. He likes to dress simply, refuses to wear a tie.

#2 Francoise Bettencourt Meyers

$89.6 billion (France)

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is a French billionaire heiress and the richest woman in the world.

She is the chairwoman of L'Oréal

After a fire severely damaged Notre-Dame de Paris, Bettencourt Meyers and L'Oréal donated $226 million to repair the cathedral.

#1 Bernard Arnault

$192.4 billion (France)

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French investor, businessman and art collector.

He is the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world's largest luxury goods company.

A centibillionaire, Arnault is the richest person in the world according to a recent Forbes report.

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