Georg von Opel | |
|---|---|
 von Opel and wife Emily in 2020 | |
| Born | Georg von Opel May 4, 1966 |
| Nationality | German |
| Citizenship | Switzerland |
| Education | University of Rhode Island American InterContinental University |
| Occupation | Investor |
| Spouse | Emily Bond |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Adam Opel (great-grandfather) |
Georg von Opel (born 4 May 1966) is a German-born Swiss billionaire and heir, great-grandson of Adam Opel who founded the German car manufacturer Opel AG.
Von Opel was born on 4 May 1966 in Kronberg im Taunus, West Germany to Georg Friedrich Karl Adam von Opel, who was the son of Carl von Opel, and grandson of Adam Opel, and his third wife Ingrid (née Revers; b. 1945). Since 1973, his family had been a resident of Switzerland and von Opel naturalized in 2014. [1]
He studied economics and business administration at the University of Rhode Island and the American InterContinental University, London. [2] [3]
In April 2015, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at GBP £1.3 billion. [4] According to the Sunday Times Rich List, this had increased to £1.654 billion in 2020. [5] His wealth primarily comes from Hansa AG, a holding company that invests in listed equities and private-equity funds. von Opel's real estate portfolio includes properties in the south of England, Majorca and the Engadin region in the Swiss Alps. [6]
von Opel is a major donor to the UK's Conservative Party. [7] Through his foundation, the Georg and Emily von Opel Foundation, he has financially supported Oxford professor Sunetra Gupta who has argued against societal restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic and was one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration. [8]
Opel and his British-born wife, the former professional tennis player Emily Bond, have five children, and live in London, England. [9] Opel was born a German citizen, became a Swiss resident in 1973, and a Swiss citizen in 2014. [9]
Fritz Adam Hermann von Opel, known as Fritz Adam Hermann Opel until his father was ennobled in 1917, was the only son of Wilhelm von Opel and a grandson of Adam Opel, founder of the Opel company. He is remembered mostly for his Opel RAK demonstrations of the world's first manned rocket-powered ground and air vehicles that earned him the nickname "Rocket Fritz" and which were also highly effective as publicity stunts for his family's automotive business.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is an Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as chairman of stainless steel manufacturer Aperam. Mittal owns 38% of ArcelorMittal and holds a 3% stake in EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist.
Nicholas F. Oppenheimer is a South African billionaire businessman. He was formerly the chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and of its subsidiary, the Diamond Trading Company, and former deputy chairman of Anglo American. He is the third richest man in Africa.
Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Schaeffler is a German billionaire businessman and owner of 80% of the holding company INA Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG, which includes the manufacturer of rolling element bearings Schaeffler AG. His mother, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, owns the other 20%. Both inherited their fortune from Schaeffler's father, Georg Schaeffler, who died in 1996. Schaeffler is the head of the supervisory board of Schaeffler Group and a member of the supervisory board of Continental AG. As of May 2023, Schaeffler was ranked by Forbes as the 171st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $10.2 billion.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch billionaire businesswoman, and the owner of a 25% controlling interest in the world's second-largest brewer, Heineken N.V. As of July 2024, Forbes estimated her net worth at US$14.1 billion.
Karl-Heinz Kipp was a German billionaire, and founder of the Massa AG department store chain. He sold the business but kept the property, and had a large property portfolio. In 2017, Forbes estimated his net wealth at US$4.9 billion.
John David Caudwell is an English billionaire businessman who founded the now defunct mobile phone retailer Phones 4u. He also invests in fashion, property and other industries, and chairs Caudwell Children, a children's charity, and Caudwell LymeCo, promoting chronic Lyme disease beliefs in the UK.
August von Finck Jr. was a Swiss-based German billionaire businessman. When he died, his net worth was estimated at US$8.8 billion.
Ivan Glasenberg is a South African business executive and former chief executive officer of Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity trading and mining companies. He was the company's CEO from 2002 to 2021. Glasenberg has or had citizenship of South Africa and Australia. He became a Swiss citizen in 2011. He is also on the board of mining company Minara Resources Ltd.
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian businessman and industrialist. He is best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $15.3 billion in May 2024, making him the richest person in Africa, the world's richest black person, and the world's 132nd richest person overall.
Klaus-Michael Kühne is a German billionaire businessman. In October 2021, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Kühne's net worth to be US$36.2 billion, making him the richest person in Germany. He is the honorary chairman and majority owner (53.3%) of the international transport company Kühne + Nagel, co-founded by his grandfather, August Kühne (1855–1932).
Alan Howard is a British billionaire hedge fund manager and co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP. In February 2013, Forbes listed him as one of the 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers. In 2014, he was ranked 53rd on the UK's Sunday Times Rich List. According to Forbes, as of 2019, Howard's net worth is $1.6 billion.
Cristina Stuart Green, Lady Green, known as Tina Green, is an English businesswoman and interior designer. Green is the director of Taveta, the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd, the parent company of the Arcadia Group, of which her husband, Sir Philip Green, is chairman. The Arcadia Group owned the clothing retail chains Topshop and Topman, as well as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, and Wallis. Taveta owned British Homes Stores (BHS) before its 2015 sale. BHS was placed into administration in 2016, and the Arcadia Group was placed into administration in 2020. Green formed the interior design company Green & Mingarelli with the Italian designer Pietro Mingarelli.
The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt and other factors. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists. This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding any ranking of those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained.
Thomas Joseph Morris is a British billionaire businessman and the founder of retail chain Home Bargains.
Aristotelis Mistakidis is a Swiss-based Greek metals trader who became a billionaire working for Glencore. He has joint Greek/British citizenship.
Emily Bond is a British former professional tennis player.
Michael Lohscheller is a business man, who worked as management control system for Jungheinrich, CFO at Mitsubishi Motors, CFO at Volkswagen Group, CEO at Opel and then VinFast of Vingroup from Vietnam.
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