The 10 richest Germans
How rich are Germany's richest and who's the richest of them all? Business magazine "Manager" has come up with a list of the country's 500 richest families. Here's a brief introduction to the top 10.
1. Too rich to be worried
The first on the list are Stefan Quandt and his sister Susanne Klatten (with their mother Johanna Quandt in this picture) - the largest shareholders of car giant BMW. Plummeting stocks after the scandal at competitor VW have apparently not affected this family, which is Germany's richest for the second year in a row. The company has a turnover of 26.5 billion euros so far this year.
2. To hell and back
Georg Schaeffler and his mother Maria-Elisabeth were almost ruined when their ball bearings manufacturing company INA Schaeffler acquired Continental tires shortly before the financial crisis of 2008. The second-richest family in Germany however managed to stage a memorable comeback and their turnover is expected to touch 22 billion euros by the end of 2015.
3. Low-budget is hip
Supermarket discounter Aldi Süd is expected to have a turnover of nearly 20 billion euros by the end of this year. Germany's third richest company, run by the families Albrecht and Heister who separated from Aldi Nord decades ago, has depended on a strategy of supplying products at low prices to their consumers.
4. Products with bite
The Reimann family, with stakes in Reckitt-Benckiser, Coty and JAB Holdings, has already earned 17.6 billion euros this year. The Reimanns are known for their range of products for false teeth, sold under the brandname "Kukident." The company, founded in the early 20th century, is aggressively expanding, taking over brands previously owned by consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble, for example.
5. A 'Lidl' price for luxury
Champagne and exotic food at discounter prices: The Lidl supermarket chain is trying to win over a new clientele and giving Aldi stiff competition in the process. Dieter Schwarz's discounter has had a turnover of 17 billion euros so far this year.
6. Administration versus innovation
Germany's popular discounter Aldi is divided into its northern and southern counterparts. Aldi Nord (logo on the right), managed by the Theo Albrecht family, has had a turnover of more than 16 billion euros this year, but experts say the family's management style focuses more on administration than innovation - an issue in these competitive times.
7. No brakes on success
A turnover of 9.5 billion euros in 2015 makes brakes manufacturer Knorr-Bremse's owner Heinz-Hermann Thiele the seventh richest man in Germany. Thiele is known for his aggressive expansion strategies in business.
8. The good old days
Germany's legendary goods delivery company, Otto Versand, made a mark decades before Amazon was even conceived. The company's founder, Werner Otto, was considered a pioneer of entrepreneurship in post-war Germany. The company has however suffered after heavy competition from online companies. Its turnover stands at around nine billion euros.
9. Hardware and masterpieces
80-year-old Reinhold Würth made a turnover of 10 billion euros this year by selling screws all over the world. But the tools and hardware magnate is also a renowned fine arts collector who owns more than 16,000 rare paintings by masters including Emil Nolde and Max Ernst.
10. Coffee, cigarettes and ciabatta
75-year-old Günter Herz helped transform his father's relatively modest business Tchibo into what became an $8-billion trading and coffee company in 2015. Herz's varied investments included tobacco, sports and even Italian food chain Vapiano.