Three Swiss 🇨🇭 Families and Their Billions
What makes family empires tick in Switzerland?
Dear Insider,
This week, we bring you something slightly different…
Why not?
Switzerland has long been known (but not always, actually…) as the home of the rich and famous. With luscious ski resorts, world-class banking, and all the amenities that the wealthy could desire, the 1% gladly pour in from around the world.
But they are not all just visitors…
The country boasts an entire class of entrepreneurial families who have built up extreme wealth over many years. From pharmaceuticals to chocolates, to watches and potato chips, these clans, some of them first or second-generation immigrants, have developed monetary power that numbers in the billions.
How do/did they do it?
Besides the usual dose of good luck and d*** hard work, it is interesting to note some other factors.
First-generational energy: Nicolas Hayek came from Lebanon and took over the Swiss watch world
Ruthless expansion: Alfred Schindler put his Wharton education to good use
Pragmtism & vision: Ernesto Bertarelli sold out to Merck, then diversified
Here is a closer look at three of the richest (and most powerful?) families in Switzerland - and what makes them tick. ⏱
Moving up - Schindler Family
As far as family giants go, Schindler is just about tops.
Founded in 1874 in Lucerne, the Schindler Group has become the world’s largest manufacturer of elevators. That means that speaking of the Schindler family’s billions actually refers to things: its fortune and the number of people its machines move each day.
The former is estimated at around CHF 15 billion. The later…who knows.
With over 70% of the company’s voting shares, the Schindler family, along with their cousins from the Bonnard family, have one of the strongest family-controlled companies in Switzerland.
But all is not so “uplifting” in the elevator empire. With no children of his own, questions remain about the next generation’s role after CEO Alfred Schindler would (eventually) step down.
So far he shows no signs of doing so…despite being well over 70 years old.
This tight control - and strong business accum (CEO Alfred attended Wharton) - has allowed the Schindlers to ride high as the company acquired business abroad and kept profits rolling in (rising over 10x under Alfred’s rule).
Now, with an aging leader and corona-induced layoffs (over 2000 jobs have been cut), the future looks uncertain…
Time to tick - Hayek Familiy
Swiss watches are world famous.
But for generations they were like the riches of Switzerland’s wealthiest families - rather reclusive and hard to get.
Nicolas Hayek changed that.
The Lebanese-born entrepreneur threw himself into the Swiss watch industry at one of the most turbulent times in its history and came out as CEO of Swatch Group, now the world’s largest watch company.
Along the way, he opened the world’s eyes to the “cool factor” in Swiss watches, and made them accessible (and desired) around the world. He did it with style and with imagination.
In his own words:
“You have to nurture your imagination, your inner 6-year-old. Keep believing in Santa Claus. Dare to express your ideas, even if they sound crazy.”
Despite being hit by coronavirus shutdowns, the Hayek family, with Nicolas’s son Nick now at the company’s helm, continues to stand strong. The evidence is in the numbers as well, with the family taking advantage of a lower share price to increase its stake in Swatch Group to 23%.
That puts the family fortune at a solid CHF 3 billion…or more.
Feeling smarter (already)? 😀
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Sailing along - Bertarelli Family
It was pharmaceuticals that did it.
After joining the family company Serono as CEO at the age of 31, Ernesto Bertarelli took the company to new heights as Europe’s largest biotech firm - and then sold it to Merck for approximately CHF 9 billion.
And then…?
Ernesto and his wife Kirsty took on a host of other projects, including his passion - America’s Cup sailing. Not surprisingly, that has turned out just as successful as the family firm, making him a two-time winner.
But instead of resting on a pile of laurels, Bertarelli has continued to push forward, investing in a range of startups through his investment firm, Waypoint Capital. His latest move was a EUR 27 million investment in German startup Zenjob.
One of Switzerland’s richest families has a digital future.