A model walks the runway of the Chanel Spring/Summer 2024 show in October. The hanging charms on the belt spells "Coco", a nod to founder Coco Chanel. Photo: AFP
Chanel heir Gerard Wertheimer became the richest Swiss resident after the post-pandemic boom in luxury goods boosted his wealth to as much as 42 billion Swiss francs (approximately RM223 billion) last year, according to Bilanz magazine.
Wertheimer, who controls the Parisian fashion house that makes Chanel No 5 perfume, is resident in Geneva.
A record year for fashion, perfume and jewelry sales boosted Wertheimer’s wealth above that of the Ikea-founding Kamprad family for the first time, Bilanz said in its annual publication of the 300 richest people in Switzerland.
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Bloomberg estimated Wertheimer’s net worth at US$44.8 billion (RM209.2 billion) as of June 27, 2023.
The closely held luxury goods group, which was founded by fashion designer Coco Chanel in 1910, had revenue of US$17.2 billion (RM80.3 billion) in 2022.
Other assets include three vineyards and racehorses in France. – Bloomberg
