2Ernesto Bertarelli & family – $11.2 Billion
Until recently being the No. 1 richest person in Switzerland, in the last months he was overtook by Hansjoerg Wyss and is now No. 2 in our list.
He and his sister Dona inherited biotech giant Serono, maker of the billion-dollar multiple sclerosis drug Rebig.
That happened in 1998, when his father died and he became CEO. He and Dona changed the company’s interest from pharmaceuticals to biotechnology and succeeded to expand the company to $2.4 billion in revenues.
In 2007 they sold it to Merck and shared that sum with their mother, Maria Iris. Ernesto and Dona co-chair the Bertarelli Foundation, which focuses on marine conservation and life sciences research.
Earning some money and doing a little good, that’s what it’s about!
At this moment, their net worth is estimated to be $ 11.2 Billion.
