Deze broers hebben een vermogen van €90 miljard, dankzij Chanel

Het vermogen van de familie Wertheimer stamt uit de jaren ’20 van de vorige eeuw, toen Pierre Wertheimer investeerde in het Franse modehuis Chanel.
Zijn kleinzoons Alain en Gerard Wertheimer hebben tegenwoordig de leiding over Chanel. Ze hebben een gezamenlijk vermogen van zo’n 90 miljard euro.
De broers zijn erg op zichzelf, bezitten drie wijngaarden in Frankrijk en de VS en fokken volbloedpaarden.
Lees ook: Dit is de rijkste vrouw ter wereld: Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, de erfgename van L’Oréal met een vermogen van €76 miljard.

De Franse broers Alain en Gerard Wertheimer verschijnen zelden in het openbaar, maar zijn de grote mannen achter het luxe modemerk Chanel, dat ze via hun vader erfden van hun grootvader.

Alain en Gerard bezitten elk een vermogen van naar schatting 45 miljard euro, gezamenlijk dus 90 miljard dollar.

Ze bezitten prestigieuze wijnmakers in Frankrijk en de VS, een kunstcollectie met werken van onder meer Picasso en Matisse, en meerdere ranches, waar ze paarden fokken.

Meer weten over de teruggetrokken broers? Bekijk dan de slideshow hieronder!

Dit zijn de erg op hun privacy gestelde Franse broers Alain en Gerard Wertheimer

Alain, 74, and brother Gerard Wertheimer, 71, both have fortunes worth $48 billion for a combined net worth of $96 billion.

Source: Bloomberg

Julien Hekimian/Getty Images
Their wealth stems from their grandfather's acquisition of French fashion house Chanel. Back in 1925, their grandfather, Frenchman Pierre Wertheimer, and his brother Paul, struck a deal with Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

Source: The New York Times

Ron Case/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
They founded Société des Parfums Chanel with the aim of selling and producing Chanel beauty products. Chanel herself saw it as an opportunity to get her signature fragrance, Chanel No. 5, into the hands of more customers.

Source: The New York Times

Sasha/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Before 1924, the fragrance was only available to exclusive clientele at Chanel's Paris boutiques.

Source: The New York Times

Chanel
Chanel was a Nazi sympathizer and was well-connected in the world of prominent Nazis. She dated a Gestapo spy and appeared to have worked as an informant during World War II, though she was never charged.

Source: PBS

AP photo
In 1941, Chanel tried to legally wrest control of the company from Pierre Wertheimer. The Wertheimers were Jewish and, at that time, owned over 50% of the fashion house. Chanel attempted to use a law that banned Jews from owning businesses.

Source: The Guardian

AP Photo
But Chanel was unsuccessful, as the Wertheimers had secretly handed off their stake to another French businessman before fleeing France during the Nazi occupation. In 1954, Pierre Wertheimer took full control of the company in exchange for promising to pay Coco Chanel's bills and taxes from then on. She died 17 years later.

Source: The Guardian, Bloomberg

AP Photo
Pierre died in the 1960s, and control of the company passed to his son, Jacques. In 1973, at 25 years old, Jacques' son Alain convinced the board of trustees to let him take over the company.

Source: The New York Times

PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images
The brothers assumed the roles of co-owners of the House of Chanel in 1996. Alain serves as chairman while Gerard heads the company's watch division from his home in Geneva. They are the third generation to run the over 110-year-old company.

Source: Forbes, The New York Times

Charles Platiau/Getty Images
The New York Times once described the brothers as "fashion's quietest billionaires." Gerard told The Times' magazine in 2002 that the family prefers being discreet. "It's about Coco Chanel. It's about Karl [Lagerfeld]. It's about everyone who works and creates at Chanel. It's not about the Wertheimers," he said at the time.

Source: The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times

Michel Dufour/WireImage/Getty Images
In 1983, the Wertheimer brothers appointed Karl Lagerfeld as the artistic director of Chanel's fashion division.

Source: The New York Times Magazine

REUTERS/Charles Platiau
The New York Times called Lagerfeld the most "prolific designer" of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Source: The New York Times

Getty Images
Lagerfeld spent three decades overseeing design for Chanel, revolutionizing the brand and saving it from a potential financial collapse.

Source: Insider

Tony Gutierrez/AP Images
"When I took on Chanel, it was a sleeping beauty. Not even a beautiful one. She snored," Lagerfeld said in a 2007 documentary called "Lagerfeld Confidential." "So I was to revive a dead woman."

Source: Insider

John van Hasselt/Corbis/Getty Images
Lagerfeld died in February 2019, and a tribute was held in Paris that June to remember the fashion icon. Celebrities including Tilda Swinton, Cara Delevingne, Helen Mirren, and Pharrell Williams attended.

Source: Vogue

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Image
Even as Chanel regained its prominence in the fashion world and the Wertheimers' fortune grew, they remained low-key and press-shy. If they attend a Chanel fashion show, they drive themselves, and then sit in the third or fourth row.

Source: The New York Times Magazine

Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
The brothers never attend the opening of Chanel stores, nor do they publicly comment on the business.

Source: The New York Times Magazine

Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images
Before 2018, Chanel never announced sales numbers, leaving the industry to merely guess its worth. When the company did finally release financials for the first time in 108 years, it reported total sales for the 2017 calendar year of $9.62 billion.

Source: The New York Times

Flickr / Rose Trinh
Alain and Gerard haven't shared publicly who will take over Chanel and whether it will stay in the family's control, though they are both married with three and two children, respectively.

Source: The New York Times, Bloomberg

REUTERS/Charles Platiau
Like the generations that preceded them, the brothers are heavily involved in horse racing. Their grandfather, Pierre, bred and raced thoroughbreds — in fact, it was at the races where Coco Chanel and Pierre met.

Source: The New York Times

Bettmann / Contributor/Getty Images
The brothers inherited Wertheimer et Frère, the family's horse-racing and breeding business. Gerard Wertheimer oversees the family's horse stock.

Source: Insider, The New York Times

Michel Dufour/WireImage/Getty Images
In 1995, it was estimated that the family owned close to 200 horses across its four ranches in Chantilly, France; California; Kentucky; and the family's stud farm in Normandy, France.

Source: The New York Times

Foc Kan/WireImage/Getty Images
Wertheimer horses have won the Breeders' Cup four times. In 2015, one of their horses won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Race in 2015. Queen Elizabeth II presented the trophy to the Wertheimers following the race that bore her name.

Source: Kentucky Derby, Bloodhorse

Getty Images/Getty Images
In 1994, the brothers bought Bordeaux winery Chateau Rauzan-Segla.

Source: Bloomberg

Tim Graham/Getty Images
Chanel bought the St. Supery winery in California's Napa Valley the same year. The purchase of the St. Supery winery cemented the brothers' status in the wine industry.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Also in 2015, the brothers finished the renovation of Chateau Canon. Chateau Canon has six bedrooms, but is not a hotel — guests can only stay if they're invited. The Wertheimer family and their guests can often be found in the château in the summer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Tim Graham/Getty Images
The brothers also have a 1% stake in Ulta, the beauty store chain worth nearly $27 billion.

Source: Bloomberg

Rick Kern/Getty Images
Alain Wertheimer owns a Connecticut country house and a "grand apartment on Fifth Avenue," according to The New York Times. Chanel's executive offices are on 57th Street, only a short distance from Alain's home.

Source: The New York Times

Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Gerard is said to own a secluded, French-style mansion in the Vandœuvres region of Geneva, Switzerland.

Source: The New York Times

Boxun Liu / EyeEm / Getty Images
The Wertheimer family enjoys shooting game at their chateau in France's Loire Valley and skiing at their chalet in the Swiss Alps. As of 2002, the brothers owned eight homes around the world, The Times reported.

Source: The New York Times

JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images
The Wertheimers have a vast art collection that includes pieces by Picasso and Matisse, but they don't loan any of the pieces out and they don't allow them to be photographed.

Source: The New York Times

Ben Pruchnie / Staff / Getty Images
As for Chanel, it now has storefronts all over the world and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Source: Forbes

Getty Images
The fashion house reported over $15 billion in revenue in 2021, up over 20% compared to 2019. While the company hasn't released its 2022 financials, its CFO said last May that Chanel was experiencing double-digit growth in 2022.

Source: WWD

Steve Kovach/Business Insider
Like other luxury-goods companies, Chanel has started catering to its high-net-worth customers, who have remained resilient amid economic upheaval. The brand's handbags, already a luxury item, rose in price three times between 2021 and 2022. And Chanel said last year that it plans to open boutiques specifically geared toward its highest-spending clients.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Business of Fashion

Getty Images

Dit zijn de erg op hun privacy gestelde Franse broers Alain en Gerard Wertheimer

Dit zijn de erg op hun privacy gestelde Franse broers Alain en Gerard Wertheimer

Alain, 74, and brother Gerard Wertheimer, 71, both have fortunes worth $48 billion for a combined net worth of $96 billion.

Their wealth stems from their grandfather's acquisition of French fashion house Chanel. Back in 1925, their grandfather, Frenchman Pierre Wertheimer, and his brother Paul, struck a deal with Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

They founded Société des Parfums Chanel with the aim of selling and producing Chanel beauty products. Chanel herself saw it as an opportunity to get her signature fragrance, Chanel No. 5, into the hands of more customers.

Before 1924, the fragrance was only available to exclusive clientele at Chanel's Paris boutiques.

Chanel was a Nazi sympathizer and was well-connected in the world of prominent Nazis. She dated a Gestapo spy and appeared to have worked as an informant during World War II, though she was never charged.

In 1941, Chanel tried to legally wrest control of the company from Pierre Wertheimer. The Wertheimers were Jewish and, at that time, owned over 50% of the fashion house. Chanel attempted to use a law that banned Jews from owning businesses.

Pierre died in the 1960s, and control of the company passed to his son, Jacques. In 1973, at 25 years old, Jacques' son Alain convinced the board of trustees to let him take over the company.

The brothers assumed the roles of co-owners of the House of Chanel in 1996. Alain serves as chairman while Gerard heads the company's watch division from his home in Geneva. They are the third generation to run the over 110-year-old company.

In 1983, the Wertheimer brothers appointed Karl Lagerfeld as the artistic director of Chanel's fashion division.

The New York Times called Lagerfeld the most "prolific designer" of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Lagerfeld spent three decades overseeing design for Chanel, revolutionizing the brand and saving it from a potential financial collapse.

"When I took on Chanel, it was a sleeping beauty. Not even a beautiful one. She snored," Lagerfeld said in a 2007 documentary called "Lagerfeld Confidential." "So I was to revive a dead woman."

Lagerfeld died in February 2019, and a tribute was held in Paris that June to remember the fashion icon. Celebrities including Tilda Swinton, Cara Delevingne, Helen Mirren, and Pharrell Williams attended.

Even as Chanel regained its prominence in the fashion world and the Wertheimers' fortune grew, they remained low-key and press-shy. If they attend a Chanel fashion show, they drive themselves, and then sit in the third or fourth row.

The brothers never attend the opening of Chanel stores, nor do they publicly comment on the business.

Before 2018, Chanel never announced sales numbers, leaving the industry to merely guess its worth. When the company did finally release financials for the first time in 108 years, it reported total sales for the 2017 calendar year of $9.62 billion.

Alain and Gerard haven't shared publicly who will take over Chanel and whether it will stay in the family's control, though they are both married with three and two children, respectively.

Like the generations that preceded them, the brothers are heavily involved in horse racing. Their grandfather, Pierre, bred and raced thoroughbreds — in fact, it was at the races where Coco Chanel and Pierre met.

The brothers inherited Wertheimer et Frère, the family's horse-racing and breeding business. Gerard Wertheimer oversees the family's horse stock.

In 1995, it was estimated that the family owned close to 200 horses across its four ranches in Chantilly, France; California; Kentucky; and the family's stud farm in Normandy, France.

Wertheimer horses have won the Breeders' Cup four times. In 2015, one of their horses won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Race in 2015. Queen Elizabeth II presented the trophy to the Wertheimers following the race that bore her name.

In 1994, the brothers bought Bordeaux winery Chateau Rauzan-Segla.

Chanel bought the St. Supery winery in California's Napa Valley the same year. The purchase of the St. Supery winery cemented the brothers' status in the wine industry.

Also in 2015, the brothers finished the renovation of Chateau Canon. Chateau Canon has six bedrooms, but is not a hotel — guests can only stay if they're invited. The Wertheimer family and their guests can often be found in the château in the summer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The brothers also have a 1% stake in Ulta, the beauty store chain worth nearly $27 billion.

Alain Wertheimer owns a Connecticut country house and a "grand apartment on Fifth Avenue," according to The New York Times. Chanel's executive offices are on 57th Street, only a short distance from Alain's home.

Gerard is said to own a secluded, French-style mansion in the Vandœuvres region of Geneva, Switzerland.

The Wertheimer family enjoys shooting game at their chateau in France's Loire Valley and skiing at their chalet in the Swiss Alps. As of 2002, the brothers owned eight homes around the world, The Times reported.

The Wertheimers have a vast art collection that includes pieces by Picasso and Matisse, but they don't loan any of the pieces out and they don't allow them to be photographed.

As for Chanel, it now has storefronts all over the world and is headquartered in Paris, France.

The fashion house reported over $15 billion in revenue in 2021, up over 20% compared to 2019. While the company hasn't released its 2022 financials, its CFO said last May that Chanel was experiencing double-digit growth in 2022.

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