The Aponte family, founders of shipping giant MSC, are the richest people in Switzerland in 2026, with a fortune we estimate above $40 billion. We rank the wealthiest individuals and families living in Switzerland as of October 2026, using share math where a company is listed and labelled estimates where it is not. The EMS-Chemie owners are computed from share prices dated 23 October 2026.
| Rank | Name | Net worth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gianluigi and Rafaela Aponte | above $40 billion (est.) |
| 2 | Ernesto Bertarelli and family | about $12 billion (est.) |
| 3 | Hansjoerg Wyss | about $8 billion (est.) |
| 4 | Magdalena Martullo-Blocher | about $7.5 billion |
| 5 | Rahel Blocher | about $7.5 billion |
| 6 | Margarita Louis-Dreyfus | about $5 billion (est.) |
| 7 | Thomas Schmidheiny | about $4 billion (est.) |
| 8 | Michael Pieper | about $3.5 billion (est.) |
1. Gianluigi and Rafaela Aponte (MSC): Net worth above $40 billion (our estimate)
Gianluigi Aponte, a former ship captain, and his wife Rafaela Aponte-Diamant founded Mediterranean Shipping Company in Naples in 1970 with a single ship. The company has been based in Geneva since 1978 and is wholly owned by the Aponte-Diamant family, with their son Diego Aponte as president and CEO. MSC is the world’s largest container shipping company, operating about 900 vessels with capacity of roughly 7 million TEU, and the group also runs rail freight, cruise ships and cargo aircraft.
Because MSC publishes no accounts, nothing here can be computed from a share price. We rank the family first because no other Swiss-based fortune rests on a business of this scale.
How we valued it: Our estimate by comparison with the scale of the world’s largest container fleet and listed shipping peers. Treat it as a range, not a precise number.
2. Ernesto Bertarelli and family: Net worth about $12 billion (our estimate)
Ernesto Bertarelli became CEO of the family biotech firm Serono in 1996 and inherited ownership with his sister in 1998. The family sold Serono to Merck KGaA in January 2007, and the family split an estimated $9 billion from that deal on top of earlier share sales when the company floated in 2000. The proceeds were invested mainly through his B-Flexion vehicle.
How we valued it: About $9 billion from the 2007 Serono sale alone, plus investment growth since then. The total is our estimate.
3. Hansjoerg Wyss: Net worth about $8 billion (our estimate)
Hansjoerg Wyss founded Synthes USA in 1977 and built Synthes into a leading maker of bone screws and plates. In June 2012, as chairman and largest shareholder, he sold the company to Johnson & Johnson for $20.2 billion. He has since given away hundreds of millions of dollars, and his Wyss Foundation holds nearly $2 billion in assets, which we do not count as his personal fortune.
How we valued it: He was the largest shareholder of a company sold for $20.2 billion in 2012. We assume the sale gave him in the order of half that before tax and later donations. This is our estimate.
4. Magdalena Martullo-Blocher: Net worth about $7.5 billion
Magdalena Martullo-Blocher has run EMS-Chemie, the Swiss specialty chemicals group, since 2004, after her father Christoph Blocher built the company and sold his holding to his children. Together with her sister Rahel she controls the family’s shares through two holding vehicles that each hold about 30.4% of EMS.
How we valued it: About 30.4% of EMS-Chemie, roughly 7.1 million shares, at the closing price of CHF 876 on 23 October 2026 (CHF 6.2 billion, about $7.5 billion at 1.21 dollars per franc). The share count is derived from a disclosed stake of about 10.1% equal to 2.36 million shares.
5. Rahel Blocher: Net worth about $7.5 billion
Rahel Blocher is Magdalena Martullo-Blocher’s younger sister and holds a matching stake in EMS-Chemie through the second family holding vehicle. She is not involved in managing the company.
How we valued it: Same math as her sister: roughly 30.4% of EMS-Chemie at CHF 876 (23 October 2026).
6. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus: Net worth about $5 billion (our estimate)
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has chaired the Louis-Dreyfus Group since 2009. The group controls Louis Dreyfus Company, which handles about 10% of world agricultural trade flows and is the largest cotton and rice trader, with gross sales that have exceeded $120 billion in recent years.
How we valued it: Estimated from her control of a private trading group. LDC does not trade publicly, so this is our estimate, in the range of $4 to 6 billion.
7. Thomas Schmidheiny: Net worth about $4 billion (our estimate)
Thomas Schmidheiny inherited the Holcim cement business when his father divided the family business in 1984. He chaired Holcim until 2003, remains a board member, and is among the biggest shareholders of the group, which in June 2025 spun off its North American business as Amrize.
How we valued it: A major stake in Holcim (SIX), which also gave him a stake in the Amrize spin-off. Holcim closed at CHF 66.80 on 23 October 2026. His exact current holding is not confirmed, so the total is our estimate.
8. Michael Pieper: Net worth about $3.5 billion (our estimate)
Michael Pieper owns kitchen equipment maker Franke through his Artemis Group. His father Will Pieper bought Franke in 1975 and Michael joined management in 1989, running it as CEO until 2012. Franke reported sales of 2.076 billion Swiss francs in 2017. Artemis also holds a large real estate portfolio and controls precision cutting group Feintool.
How we valued it: Estimated from Franke’s sales, the real estate portfolio and the Feintool stake, none of which carry a public price for the whole. Our estimate.
Special mentions
Klaus-Michael Kühne (1937 to 2026) built Kuehne + Nagel, the logistics group based in Schindellegi. His Kühne Holding owned 55.4% of the voting rights at the end of 2025. On 120,753,783 shares and a closing price of CHF 227.10 on 23 October 2026, that stake is worth about CHF 15.2 billion, or roughly $18 billion, before counting his large holding in Hapag-Lloyd. Because he died in August 2026 and the ownership of his holdings is a matter for his estate and foundation, we do not rank him.
The Hoffmann and Oeri families, descendants of the founders of Roche, own slightly over half of the voting shares of the Basel pharma group. Their individual stakes are not broken out publicly, so we list them here rather than ranking individuals.
The Mantegazza family (Globus) and Stephan Schmidheiny appeared in our 2014 edition. We no longer rank them: Sergio Mantegazza died in 2024 and we could not verify a current figure for the Globus holding, and we dropped Stephan Schmidheiny’s entry as we could not ground a current figure responsibly.
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Who is the richest person in Switzerland in 2026?
The Aponte family, owners of MSC, at a fortune we estimate above $40 billion. MSC is private, so the figure is an estimate.
How rich are the Blocher sisters?
Roughly $7.5 billion each, based on roughly 30.4% of EMS-Chemie each at CHF 876 per share on 23 October 2026.
Why is Klaus-Michael Kühne not ranked?
His holdings were worth about $18 billion on 23 October 2026, but he died in August 2026 and his stake is now a matter for his estate and foundation.
Who left the list since 2014?
Sergio Mantegazza died in 2024 and Stephan Schmidheiny is no longer ranked. The Aponte, Bertarelli and Wyss fortunes now lead the list, and the Blocher sisters are recomputed from share prices.
How are the figures calculated?
Shares held multiplied by the closing price on 23 October 2026 for listed holdings, and labelled estimates for private companies.
How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
For this list we used share counts and stake percentages from company filings, closing prices dated 23 October 2026, a franc to dollar rate of 1.21, and disclosed deal values such as the Synthes and Serono sales. Private holdings are shown as labelled estimates.
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Last updated: October 2026.
