The latest wealth ranking by Bilanz has revealed the 10 richest people in Switzerland for 2024. The alpine nation’s richest continue to accrue wealth, with the top 10 now owning assets worth over 200 billion Swiss francs.

Half of the 300 richest people in Switzerland are billionaires

According to their data, the top 300 richest people in Switzerland now hold wealth amounting to 833,5 billion Swiss francs, while the top 10 now sport 218 billion francs.

The wealth of Switzerland’s richest has boomed in the last few decades. For reference, when Bilanz first released its report in 1989, the average wealth of the 100 richest people was 660 million francs. Today, half of the top 300 are billionaires.

Who is the richest person in Switzerland?

For 2024, the reclusive co-owner of the luxury brand Chanel, Gérard Wertheimer, is the richest person living in Switzerland. The French national is known to be a resident of Geneva and has a fortune totalling 38 billion Swiss francs - a slight decrease compared to 2023.

With Chanel estimated to be worth between 80 to 90 billion US dollars, it’s perhaps no surprise that Wertheimer is top of the pack once again. Gérard is known for possessing a large collection of art, race horses and a large vineyard.

Despite the visibility of the Chanel brand, both Gérard and his brother Alain are known to avoid the public eye as much as possible, refusing interviews and often sitting in the third and fourth rows of their own fashion shows. 

Owners of pharmaceutical and logistics firms round out top three

Like last year, second place was taken by the Hoffmann-Oeri-Duschmalé family with an increased fortune of 29 billion francs. The family are descendants of the founder of Basel pharmaceutical giant Roche and still hold a majority stake in the company. In 2023, the family is said to have received 750 million francs in dividends.

Rounding out the top three for 2024 was German entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne, who owns the logistics company Kühne + Nagel, shipping firm Hapag Lloyd and German flag carrier airline Lufthansa. He is estimated to be worth between 27 and 28 billion francs. Though originally from Hamburg, Kühne is now believed to be a resident of Canton Schwyz.

Switzerland remains a haven for the super-rich

Considering the country's long history of low taxes, the alpine nation and its banks have always been a haven for the super-rich. An October 2024 study from Deloitte found that 21 percent of global cross-border assets are held in Switzerland, totalling 1,885 trillion Swiss francs.

It’s far from a fading phenomenon either. More than 70 super-rich Norwegians moved to Switzerland in 2022 and 2023 because of new capital gains and dividend taxes imposed by the government in Oslo. This was sparked when Kjell Inge Røkke, one of the richest people in Norway, moved to Lugano in September 2022.

Wealth inequality grows across Swiss cantons

The popularity of the country with the super-rich has led to a growing imbalance in wealth. In a report released this December, the Tages-Anzieger noted that the richest 1 percent in Switzerland hold around 30 percent of total assets, while the top 10 percent hold around 57 percent. Gini inequality data suggests this is roughly on par with nations like Germany and Austria, much more than in Slovenia and Iceland, but much less than in Sweden, Latvia, and Ireland.

The super rich's share of wealth has grown every year since 2004, with wealth inequality in Switzerland now back to where it was in the 1970s. There are also major differences between the cantons: the richest 10 percent of residents in Uri hold 62 percent of the wealth, compared to 90 percent in Basel and Nidwalden.

Who are the richest people in Switzerland?

In all, here are the 10 richest people living in Switzerland in 2024 (in billions of Swiss francs):

1. Gérard Wertheimer (38)
2. Hoffmann-Oeri-Duschmalé family (29)
3. Klaus-Michael Kühne (28)
4. Safra family (23)
5. Aponte family (21)
6. Jorge Lemann family (18)
7. Andrey Melnichenko (18)
8. Bertarelli family (17)
9. Blocher family (16)
10. Firmenich family (15)

To see which other famous names are featured on the list, check out the official report (paid article).