Schwarz Group and BMW in the top ten


Susanne Klatten and Stefan Quandt

The siblings own large parts of BMW.

(Photo: dpa)

Dusseldorf The world’s 500 largest family businesses together generate almost 7.3 trillion US dollars and employ around 24 million people. On average, their sales are just under $ 15 billion. The top 500 family businesses had to record an average drop in sales of 2.5 percent compared to the pre-Corona year 2019. The German family businesses, on the other hand, grew by an average of 0.8 percent.

These are the results of the Global Family Business Index, which this year is being published jointly for the fourth time by the University of St. Gallen and EY. The index lists the 500 family businesses with the highest turnover worldwide that have been run by a family for at least two generations.

Walmart in front of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway

Almost 16 percent of the family businesses with the highest turnover come from Germany, specifically 79. This puts Germany in second place behind the USA with around 24 percent. Seven of the ten largest family businesses come from the United States. Retailer Walmart is in first place, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holding follows in second place.

Two companies from Germany have placed themselves in the top ten: the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl, in fourth place, and the car manufacturer BMW, in which the Quandt family holds almost half of the shares, in sixth place.

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Volkswagen was also represented in the top ten in the previous surveys. But this time, the largest family businesses are recorded in such a way that the companies in which they have the greatest influence are authoritative. If a family controls several companies, the parent company or the holding company above the company counts.

For example, Porsche Holding, as a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, is in 39th place, but Volkswagen itself is no longer on the list. As a subsidiary of Beiersdorf and Tchibo, Maxingvest is in 135th place. With the change, the study authors want to emphasize the influence that families have.

A lot of industry, little technology from Germany

While the proportion of companies from industrial production represented in the index is 27 percent worldwide, the proportion in Germany is significantly higher at 40.5 percent. In contrast, only nine percent of Germany’s top family businesses come from the technology and media sector. This corresponds to the global average, which is only slightly higher in the USA at just under thirteen percent.

Germany does not have the largest number of family businesses among the top 500, but with more than 100 years it has the oldest on average. What is changing more and more, however, is that in the current list less than half of the companies are still managed by a family member – in Germany it is even less with around a third. This shows that the trend from family-run to family-controlled companies is continuing.

The authors of the study clearly see a need for action on the topic of diversity: only around five percent of CEOs worldwide and in Germany are female, says Wolfgang Glauner, Head of Market Activities for Family Businesses at EY. “This is where family businesses have to make decisive improvements.”

In other areas of economic and social life, more and more women are taking on leadership positions. “If family businesses detach themselves from this development, it can lead to problems: On the one hand, more and more investors are making their decision dependent on whether equality is taken seriously in companies. On the other hand, it is becoming more and more important for companies when recruiting skilled workers that female role models are represented in the management floor. “

More: Many companies lack women, digital specialists or international experts on their supervisory bodies. That could cause problems with the talent search.

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