Germany's Youngest Billionaire Emerges as Wealth Rises Globally
Johannes von Baumbach, a 19-year-old heir, becomes the youngest billionaire in the latest Forbes ranking, amidst a record number of global billionaires.
The Forbes Billionaires List for 2025 reveals a record 3,028 billionaires worldwide, an increase of 247 from the previous year.
This year marks a significant milestone as it includes Johannes von Baumbach, a 19-year-old heir from Germany, recognized as the youngest billionaire globally with an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion.
He currently ranks 650th on the Forbes list.
Johannes von Baumbach is the heir to Boehringer Ingelheim, the largest privately held pharmaceutical company in the world, founded in 1885. Today, under the leadership of Hubertus von Baumbach, the family-operated firm specializes in producing critical medications, including those for COPD, Type 2 diabetes, and anticoagulants, generating a revenue of €26.8 billion in 2024. The company, which employs 53,000 people, ranks among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies globally.
While well-known billionaires dominate the top of the Forbes list, including Elon Musk with $342 billion, an increase of $147 billion from the previous year, and Mark Zuckerberg with $216 billion, the 19-year-old’s entry into the billionaire ranks has drawn attention due to his relative obscurity; no photographs of him are publicly available.
Other young billionaires from Germany include Sophie Luise Fielmann, 30, with a net worth of $2.8 billion, inheriting wealth from her father, the founder of an optical retail chain.
Kevin David Lehmann, 22, holds a 50% stake in the drugstore chain dm, resulting in a fortune of $3.6 billion.
Additionally, 23-year-old Maxim Tebar, heir to the Stihl chainsaw company, is also among the young billionaires with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
The increase in billionaires reflects a broader trend: there are now six times as many billionaires as there were two decades ago.
The United States and China lead the count with 902 and 450 billionaires, respectively, followed by India with 205 and Germany with 171.
The richest individual in Germany, according to Forbes, is Dieter Schwarz, the owner of Lidl, with a fortune of $41 billion, followed by Klaus-Michael Kühne, the honorary chairman of Kühne & Nagel.
Furthermore, Germany has seen the second-highest increase in billionaires this year, with 37 new entries, following the U.S.'s 103 new billionaires.
This year marks a significant milestone as it includes Johannes von Baumbach, a 19-year-old heir from Germany, recognized as the youngest billionaire globally with an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion.
He currently ranks 650th on the Forbes list.
Johannes von Baumbach is the heir to Boehringer Ingelheim, the largest privately held pharmaceutical company in the world, founded in 1885. Today, under the leadership of Hubertus von Baumbach, the family-operated firm specializes in producing critical medications, including those for COPD, Type 2 diabetes, and anticoagulants, generating a revenue of €26.8 billion in 2024. The company, which employs 53,000 people, ranks among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies globally.
While well-known billionaires dominate the top of the Forbes list, including Elon Musk with $342 billion, an increase of $147 billion from the previous year, and Mark Zuckerberg with $216 billion, the 19-year-old’s entry into the billionaire ranks has drawn attention due to his relative obscurity; no photographs of him are publicly available.
Other young billionaires from Germany include Sophie Luise Fielmann, 30, with a net worth of $2.8 billion, inheriting wealth from her father, the founder of an optical retail chain.
Kevin David Lehmann, 22, holds a 50% stake in the drugstore chain dm, resulting in a fortune of $3.6 billion.
Additionally, 23-year-old Maxim Tebar, heir to the Stihl chainsaw company, is also among the young billionaires with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
The increase in billionaires reflects a broader trend: there are now six times as many billionaires as there were two decades ago.
The United States and China lead the count with 902 and 450 billionaires, respectively, followed by India with 205 and Germany with 171.
The richest individual in Germany, according to Forbes, is Dieter Schwarz, the owner of Lidl, with a fortune of $41 billion, followed by Klaus-Michael Kühne, the honorary chairman of Kühne & Nagel.
Furthermore, Germany has seen the second-highest increase in billionaires this year, with 37 new entries, following the U.S.'s 103 new billionaires.
Translation:
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