Europe is location to a important fig of the world’s billionaires, with Germany holding the top spot connected the continent and ranking 4th globally. Greece besides has a notable beingness successful the billionaire list.
Wealth Distribbution Across Europe
Wealth inequality remains a large planetary issue, including successful Europe. The richest 1% of the colonisation holds astatine slightest 20% of total wealth successful astir each European countries, often exceeding 25%, according to Our World successful Data.
Forbes reports that the world will person implicit 3,000 billionaires successful 2025, with a combined nett worth of $16.1 trillion (€13.7 trillion). However, this wealth is highly concentrated: the United States, China, and India unsocial relationship for implicit fractional of each billionaires and their combined wealth.
Germany Tops Europe’s Billionaire List
Germany leads Europe with 171 billionaires, whose combined nett worth reaches €676.4 billion. Dieter Schwarz is the wealthiest idiosyncratic successful Germany, with €35 billion, ranking 37th worldwide according to Euro News.
Italy follows with 74 billionaires totaling €289 billion. Giovanni Ferrero is Italy’s richest, with €32.6 billion, placing 41st globally.
The United Kingdom has 55 billionaires with a combined nett worth of €203 billion. Michael Platt is the wealthiest Briton astatine €16 billion, ranked 106th worldwide.
France counts 52 billionaires, led by Bernard Arnault, caput of luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns brands similar Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Sephora. Arnault’s luck is €152 billion, making him the 5th richest idiosyncratic successful the world. He is besides a cardinal fig successful debates connected France’s wealth tax.
Other European Leaders
Sweden and Switzerland follow, with 45 and 42 billionaires respectively. Stefan Persson is Sweden’s wealthiest astatine €15.9 billion, while successful Switzerland, Gianluigi Aponte and Rafaela Aponte-Diamant stock the top spot with €32.2 cardinal each, ranking 44th worldwide.
Among the 5 largest European economies, Spain has the fewest billionaires—34—placing seventh successful Europe. Amancio Ortega is Spain’s richest astatine €106 billion, ranking 9th globally.
Turkey has 32 billionaires, followed by Norway with 17. Greece ranks next, hosting 16 billionaires.
Billionaires Across Other European Countries
- Netherlands: 13
- Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic: 11 each
- Poland, Cyprus: 10 each
- Austria, Denmark: 9 each
- Finland: 7
- Romania: 6
- Hungary: 4
- Slovakia, Bulgaria: 2 each
- Portugal, Luxembourg, Croatia, Iceland, Albania: 1 each
Austria’s richest, Marc Mateschitz, holds €34.6 billion, ranking 38th globally.
Western and Northern Europe Dominate
Western and Northern European countries predominate the billionaire list, with Germany, Italy, the UK, France, and Sweden accounting for 61% of Europe’s total. Eastern Europe lags significantly.Economy Size Influences Billionaire Distribution
The fig of billionaires mostly correlates with the size of a country’s economy. The 4 European countries with the astir billionaires besides fertile among the 5 largest economies successful Europe, though GDP ranking and billionaire number bash not perfectly align. The UK and Switzerland are besides large fiscal centers.
In contrast, the 2024 UBS “Billionaire Ambitions Report” presents slightly antithetic figures utilizing a antithetic methodology: Germany leads with 117 billionaires, Switzerland has 85, the UK 82, Italy 62, France 46, Sweden 28, and Spain 27.