While the United States may be the country that has the largest concentration of millionaires and billionaires, there are plenty in Europe as well. When you look at all of the European countries, there are actually a good amount of extremely wealthy individuals. So who are these wealthy Europeans? Where do they come from, and how did they make their fortunes? Let’s take a look at a slideshow that contains 20 of the richest and wealthiest individuals that are from Europe, in no particular order.
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20. Antti Herlin – Net Worth: $3.2 Billion
Antti Herlin is a Finnish man that is currently the chairman of the board for the KONE Corporation. He is the grandson of Harald Herlin who originally purchased KONE back in the 1920’s. Antti would eventually take over the business, and has made his fortunes from elevators and escalators as KONE is one of the largest producers of elevators/escalators in the entire world.
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19. Georg Schaeffler – Net Worth: $26.3 Billion
Georg Schaeffler is a German businessman and investor who is one of the richest individuals in the entire world. He is the chairman of the INA Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG, of which he owns an 80% stake of the company. It is through this company that he acquired his great wealth, and his company is one of the largest ball bearing production companies in the entire world.
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18. Stefan Quandt – Net Worth: $13.2 Billion
49-year-old Stefan Quandt is next up on our list, and he has a sizable net worth of around $13.2 billion dollars. He is a German businessman who inherited a great fortune from his father. When his father passed away in 1982, Stefan inherited a 17.4% stake in BMW in addition to few other companies, and it is from here that he amassed his fortune.
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17. Francois Pinault – Net Worth: $14.2 Billion
Francois Pinault is an established and wealthy French businessman and art collector. He is 78-years-old and is know for being the founder and the majority-shareholder of the French luxury goods holding company that is known as Kering. That company controls various brands like Saint Laurent Paris, Gucci, and Sergio Rossi. I don’t think I need to explain how much those brands are worth, and that is where he earned his wealth.
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16. Viktor Vekselberg – Net Worth: $13.5 Billion
Next up we have the Ukrainian-born, Russian businessman known as Viktor Vekselberg. He is one of the richest individuals in Russia, in addition to being one of the richest Europeans as well. Viktor earned his fortune from the Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate where he is the owner and president. They control interests in the metal, energy, and telecommunications industry and Viktor is also known for being an economic advisor for the country as well.
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15. Miuccia Prada – Net Worth: $3.5 Billion
Miuccia Prada is an Italian woman best known as one of the key designer and entrepreneurs behind the Prada fashion label and the Miu Miu fashion label. She started out in life wanting to study political science, and eventually earned a Ph.D. in the subject, but eventually would head over toward Prada where she became one of their most accomplished designers and visionaries.
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14. Mikhail Fridman – Net Worth: $14.7 Billion
Mikhail Fridman is a Russian businessman and investor who is known as the founder and a key individual of the Alfa Group, one of the largest private financial investment groups in Russia. His company controls interests in the energy, banking, insurance, and telecommunications industries, and it is through the Alfa Group that he earned his money.
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13. Michael Otto – Net Worth: $16.8 Billion
Next up we have Michael Otto, a German businessman and real estate mogul. He (and his family) are currently worth around $16.8 billion dollars, which is certainly a lot of money. Michael established his wealth from his business, the Otto Group. His company is a large retail, mail order, and e-commerce company that is also the largest mail order company in the entire world.
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12. Dietrich Mateschitz – Net Worth: $11.6 Billion
Dietrich Mateschitz is an Austrian businessman and entrepreneur who is currently the richest man in his home country. He studied business while he was growing up, which would then lead him to working for a variety of different companies. In 1982 he would make a trip to Thailand that would change his life. There he found a beverage that was used as an energy drink by truck drivers. Captivated by the idea, he flew back to Europe and co-founded Red Bull. Now they are the biggest name in energy drinks and extreme sports, and the company helped Dietrich make a good bit of money.
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11. Leonardo Del Vecchio – Net Worth: $24.5 Billion
From Milan, Leonardo Del Vecchio is a wealthy Italian businessman and he is also one of the wealthiest individuals in Europe. He made his fortune in the eyewear industry, through his company Luxottica. His company controls the brands Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Persol. Additionally they produce sunglasses for Chanel, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Versace, and many others. So essentially Leonardo’s company makes pretty much all of the high-end sunglasses of the world, and that makes you extremely rich.
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10. Alisher Usmanov – Net Worth: $13.5 Billion
With a net worth of around $13.5 billion, Alisher Usmanov is not only one of the wealthiest Europeans, but one of the wealthiest Russians as well. He is a wealthy businessman and investor that owns a variety of different business and has stakes in a few other companies as well. He made his fortune primarily from ventures in the metal and mining industries, in addition to various investments.
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9. Susanne Klatten – Net Worth: $15.1 Billion
Next up we have Susanne Klatten, who is the richest woman in Germany. She studied business and finance when she was younger, and is the sister of Stefan Quandt. So like Stefan, when their father died, he left her a sizable fortune and various interests in a few companies, namely BMW and Altana. It is from her inheritance that she earned most of her vast net worth.
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8. Dieter Schwarz – Net Worth: $19.3 Billion
We have yet another German up next, and he is a man by the name of Dieter Schwarz. He is an extremely private man who has amassed a great fortune through his company, Schwarz-Gruppe. Dieter took over this company when his father passed away in 1997, and they are responsible for controlling the brands Lidl and Kaufland.
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7. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen – Net Worth: $9.5 Billion
With a total net worth of around $9.5 billion dollars, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the richest individual form Denmark. Growing up he studied business to eventually take over the family company at some point. And what was the family business? Well none other than The Lego Group. These popular toys have been around for years, and the company is worth quite a lot of money. He ran the business from 1979 to 2004 where he served as the companies president and CEO.
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6. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken – Net Worth: $12.1 Billion
You can probably guess where Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, a Dutch-born businesswoman and heiress, get’s her fortune from. That’s right, she is the current owner that has the largest stake in Heineken International, the third largest brewer in the entire world. She inherited her share when her father, Freddy, passed away in 2002. She is now currently one of the richest women in all of Europe as well.
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5. Bernie Ecclestone – Net Worth: $3.9 Billion
Bernard Charles “Bernie” Ecclestone is a British businessman and entrepreneur who has established a great career for himself. He is famously known for being the CEO of the Formula One Group, the company in charge of the Formula One races. His company oversees all of the races, the commercial rights, and pretty much everything else related to the sport. He’s basically the head honcho of Formula One.
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4. Stefan Persson – Net Worth: $23.8 Billion
Sweden is a country known for its high quality of life, and out of all the wealthy people from this Scandinavian country, Stefan Persson is the richest by far. He grew up in Sweden and went on to study business at a young age. In 1982 he took over his fathers company, which is the massive H&M clothing retailer. H&M operates out of 57 different countries and they have well over 3,500 stores across the globe.
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3. Bernard Arnault – Net Worth: $39.1 Billion
Bernard Arnault is not only the the third richest European, he is one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. He is a French business magnate, art collector, philanthropist, and investor that is best known as the chairman and CEO of LVMH. LVMH controls over 60 subsidiaries that include Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, Fendi, Hennessy, Dior, Hublot, Marc Jacobs, TAG Heuer, and many others. So yeah, those brands bring in a good bit of money, and Bernard certainly lives a comfortable lifestyle.
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2. Liliane Bettencourt – Net Worth: $41.6 Billion
Hailing from France, Liliane Bettencourt is a businesswoman, heiress, philanthropist, and socialite. She is the 10th richest person in the world, and the second richest woman with her vast fortune of $41.6 billion. Her parents founded L’Oréal, a cosmetics and beauty company, and she would eventually inherit the company after her father died in 1957. She is still the principal shareholder of the company, and that is how she has amassed her fortune.
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1. Amancio Ortega Gaona – Net Worth: $71.3 Billion
Finally we have Amancio Ortega Gaona, the richest man in all of Europe. Hailing from Spain, Amancio is a businessman who founded the fashion label known as Zara, and then the larger textile and holdings company known as Inditex. It is through these ventures that he made his fortune, and with a net worth of $71.3 billion dollars, not only is he the richest European, but he is the fourth richest individual in the entire world as well.
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