The French-Swiss, Gerard Wertheimer and his brother Alain, co-owner of his brother of the luxury house Chanel, are now among the richest in the world with a fortune close to 100 billion USD.
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The Wertheimer family fled to the United States in the 1940s during World War II to protect their lives. The Chanel brand is at its peak, with record sales worldwide.In 2021, sales of the haute couture house climbed 27% compared to 2019, before the shock of the pandemic, to 15.6 billion dollars, leading to a revaluation of the Chanel house.
Wertheimer has assets worth as much as 42 billion Swiss francs ($47.7 billion), having seen his wealth boosted by 9 billion francs in 2022 and another 3 billion francs so far this year.
The 72-year-old Wertheimer—who controls Chanel with his brother, Alain—has an estimated net worth of $44.8 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Alain Wertheimer, whose fortune is estimated to be the same as his brother’s, lives in New York City.
Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with GDP per capita massively outpacing major economies like those of the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Germany, and France.
A spokesperson for Wertheimer via Chanel did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment on his new wealth status in Switzerland. Back in the early 2000s, he told a New York Times reporter that the family—which endeavors to stay out of the spotlight—was “very discreet.”
The brothers are the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who became a business partner of the fashion giant’s namesake founder, Coco Chanel, in the 1920s when he and his brother set up Les Parfums Chanel. Chanel, which remains privately owned, is still a major player in the luxury goods space, producing haute couture, perfume, cosmetics, watches, jewelry, and handbags.
The Wertheimers, a Jewish family, fled Paris in the 1940s when Nazi troops advanced on the French capital. During their absence from France, Coco Chanel reportedly tried to seize control of Les Parfums Chanel, telling German occupiers that as it was Jewish-owned, she should be granted ownership rights. However, French industrialist Félix Amiot had agreed to hold the Wertheimers’ stake during the occupation, and passed it back to the family after the war.
The Wertheimers took full control of Chanel’s fashion and fragrance divisions in 1954, according to Bloomberg—in exchange for paying Coco Chanel’s bills and taxes for the rest of her life.
While the majority of Wertheimer’s wealth is derived from his stake in Chanel, he also owns assets including a Franco-American racehorse business, vineyards in France and California’s Napa Valley, and stakes in cosmetics brand Ulta Beauty and Olaplex, a hair care brand.
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