Top 10 Richest People in Austria And Their Net Worth

Austria is one of the beautiful country in central Europe that is blessed with a lot of rich and wealthy billionaires and some of this richest people in Austria or richest Austrian billionaires have been one of the bedrock of the countries economy and growth with their influence and investment in private enterprises.

Due to its highly industrialized economy and advanced social market economy, Austria consistently ranks highly in terms of GDP per capita. Many of Austria’s largest industrial companies were nationalized up until the 1980s, but privatization in recent years has brought down state ownership to a level that is comparable to other European economies.

According to Wikipedia,

The three largest transactions involving Austrian businesses were the acquisitions of Porsche Holding Salzburg by Volkswagen Group in 2009 for 3.6 billion euros, Banca Comercială Română by Erste Group in 2005 for 3.7 billion euros, and Bank Austria by Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank for 7.8 billion euros in 2000.

Nearly 9% of Austria’s GDP is derived from the tourism industry. With 18.9 billion US dollars in international tourism receipts in 2007, Austria came in ninth place overall. With 20.8 million visitors, Austria came in at number 12 in terms of international arrivals.

Below is the table of the names of the Top richest people in Austria, their net worth, and their source of wealth;

1. Georg Stumpf – $7.9 billion

Georg Stumpf is the richest man in Austria following the death of Dietrich Mateschitz the founder and owner of Red Bull whose net worth was valued at $26.9 billion dollars at the time of death.

He is a builder and property developer from Austria. Georg established the Stumpf Group in 1994. He was a member of the wealthy businessman Georg Stumpf Senior’s family and a close ally of the late Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky.

Later, Georg Stumpf Jr. received a start-up of 1 million shillings from his father. Today he is among one of the richest people in Austria with an overall estimated net worth of $7.9 billion dollars.

2. Rene Benko – $5.2 billion

The second richest person in Austria is Rene Benko who has an estimated net worth of $5.2 billion dollars, meanwhile, his wealth had experience a downtime like most billionaires in the world, when he was estimated to be around $4 billion dollars later in 2022.

Meanwhile, in March 2019, Benko’s Signa Holding and RFR Holding purchased the Chrysler Building in New York for an estimated $150 million. René Benko’s first significant investment in the United States. A month later, the South Tyrol regional government’s Technical Commission approved the sale of Bolzano Airport to a company owned by Benko.

The Austrian real estate, media, and retail investor and founder of Signa Holding is regarded as Austria’s largest privately held real estate conglomerate. Benko is one of Austria’s wealthiest people.

3. Helmut Sohmen – $5.1 billion

Helmut Sohmen is the third richest person in Austria with a net worth of approximately $5.1 billion dollars. Sohmen is an Austrian businessman and attorney in Hong Kong. He was a former lawmaker from Hong Kong and the chairman of the BW Group. Meanwhile, he had served as managing director of Dragon Air.

Additionally, he was the fourth Austrian on the Forbes list in 2010 and is thought to be worth US$1.4 billion as at then. He was also listed as Hong Kong’s 13th richest person in 2009.

The Austrian national, who has spent most of his life in Hong Kong, is wed to Anna Pui Hing Pao, the eldest child of the late shipping magnate Y.K. Pao. He is one of the most influential and popular Austrian nationals in the world as well as one of the most profound and richest Austrian billionaires.

4. Johann Graf – $4.8 billion

Johann Graf is the owner of Novomatic Group, which operates casinos around the world and sells slot machines, video poker games, and electronic table games.

Raised in a small flat without running water by his grandparents, he apprenticed as a butcher and was expected to take over his family’s butcher shop.

Graf, on the other hand, began importing American pinball machines to Austria via Belgium before becoming an agent for a British slot machine company. In 1980, he struck out on his own with Novomatic, which he quickly expanded into Switzerland and, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the East Bloc.

Johann is one of the richest people in Austria and the fourth richest Austrian Billionaire to appear on this list of top richest people in Austria with an estimated net worth of $4.8 billion dollars according to Forbes billionaires index

5. Wolfgang Leitner – $2.2 billion

Wolfgang Leitner is the fifth richest Austrian billionaire and he has a total estimated net worth of $2.2 billion dollars, which places him as one of the richest people in Austria and Europe to have a billion dollars net worth.

Leitner, a trained chemist, joined Andritz in 1987, rose to the position of CEO in 1994, and acquired a 26% stake in the business in 1999. He eventually succeeded in making Andritz one of the biggest businesses in Austria.

With the $833 million purchase of Xerium Technologies, a company based in North Carolina, Andritz completed the largest acquisition in its history. Leitner’s initial wealth came from the $110 million sale of Pharmavit, a division of the pharmaceutical company he founded, Genericon, in 1995.

Meanwhile, The CEO of listed Austrian plant and equipment manufacturer Andritz, Wolfgang Leitner, announced in July 2021 that he would transition into the role of chairman of the board.

6. Reinold Geiger – $2.1 billion

Reinold who is also one of the richest people in Austria and the sixth richest Austrian billionaire, found his way around his whooping through his investments in the luxury and beauty business.

Geiger is the CEO of L’Occitane, a French cosmetics retailer that sells beauty products inspired by the Provence region to customers all over the world. Geiger has overseen L’Occitane’s global expansion to over 3,400 outlets in 90 countries since his initial investment in the company in 1994. When its shares debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2010, L’Occitane became the first French company to do so.

Furthermore, after more than 25 years as the CEO of the cosmetics business, Geiger retired in September 2021. He still serves as executive director and chairman.

7. Michael Tojner – $1.5 billion

Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of VARTA AG and Dorotheum GmbH, and the Board of the Vienna Industrial Association, at a young age, Michel Tojner decided to start his own business, and since 1989, he has built a sizable number of businesses.

Varta, a German manufacturer of microbatteries, was acquired by Tojner for $40 million in 2007. In 2017, the company was floated on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. He reportedly owns a 56% stake in Varta, which is worth more than $1 billion and reportedly manufactures the batteries for Apple AirPod Pros.

Meanwhile, being a seasoned businessman, he has owned an online casino, made investments in hotels and real estate, as well as in other industrial firms. He paid 50 million euros for the Hotel InterContinental Vienna in 2012, but he has been unable to redevelop it due to local opposition.

8. Stefan Pierer – $1.2 billion

Stefan is one of the richest Austrian billionaire who had a plunge in their but has bounced back to reclaim his spot has one of the richest People in Austria with a net worth of $1.2 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, he started out in sales at Hoval, a manufacturer of heating and cooling systems before starting his own company making auto parts. Pierer is still the majority shareholder of Cross Holding Group, which he founded in 1987 and is now known as Pierer Industrie. Additionally, he serves on the SHW AG Supervisory Board of the auto parts manufacturer.

Furthermore, Stefan Pierer is the CEO of Pierer Mobility, an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer worth $1.7 billion in sales. Pierer is still the majority shareholder of Cross Holding Group, which he founded in 1987 and is now known as Pierer Industrie.

9. Ulrich Mommert & family – $1.2 billion

Ulrich Mommert makes this list of the richest Austrian billionaires with an estimated and rising net worth of $1.2 billion dollars. Meanwhile, he is having same net worth with Stefan Pierer but based on diversityy of investments and actual rise and fallin net worth we have decided that Stefan should come first and Ulrich follows.

Ulrich Mommert took over the on the verge of bankruptcy Austrian lightning company ZKW in 1982. He refocused ZKW on high-end automotive lighting technology, with customers like BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Audi. Mommert sold the business to LG in South Korea in 2018 for $1.2 billion. In Berlin-Mariendorf, Mommert is the owner of a horse racing team and a trotting track.

Furthermore, he has earned his net worth from the timely investments in ZKW and other business that he is into made him one of the richest people in Austria and the ninth richest person in Austria with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion dollars. Meanwhile, hw has also earn reputation as one of the leading figure in Austria, both in business and social.

10. Gaston Glock – $1.1 billion

Lastly, the tenth richest Austrian billionaire on this list Gaston Glock who who has a net worth of approximately $1.1 billion dollars. The Glock company, best known for creating the Glock pistol in 1981, was founded by Austrian engineer and entrepreneur Gaston Glock.

Glock, an engineer, got his start in the early 1980s by creating a pistol for the Austrian army.  With his second wife Kathrin, who is more than 50 years younger than him, Glock spends the majority of his time in their Austrian mansion.

Meanwhile, according to analyst estimates, Glock has a nearly 65% market share of handguns in the U.S., with global sales of more than $500 million in 2017. Glock’s legal representative vehemently disagreed with Forbes’ estimate and objected to his inclusion in the billionaire list.

Top 10 Richest People in Austria

Here is the summary of the richest Austrian billionaires list and their net worth;

1. Georg Stumpf – $7.9 billion
2. Rene Benko – $5.2 billion
3. Helmut Sohmen – $5.1 billion
4. Johann Graf – $4.8 billion
5. Wolfgang Leitner – $2.2 billion
6. Reinold Geiger – $2.1 billion
7. Michael Tojner – $1.5 billion
8. Stefan Pierer – $1.2 billion
9. Ulrich Mommert & family – $1.2 billion
10. Gaston Glock – $1.1 billion