This year, eighteen Belgians appear on the list of dollar billionaires published by the American business magazine Forbes: 16 men and 2 women. Together, they have an estimated fortune of 55.1 billion dollars (47.4 billion euros).
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18 Belgians on Forbes billionaires’ list: richest Belgian is worth 9 billion dollars
Colin Clapson
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Five Belgians appear on the list for the first time. They are Roland Duchâtelet (Melexis and X-Fab) and textile entrepreneur Filip Balcaen, both with 1.5 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros), and Charles Beauduin (Vandewiele and Barco), Philippe Van de Vyvere (Sea-Invest) and Bart Van Malderen (Drylock), each with 1.2 billion dollars (1 billion euros).
After several years of absence, Luc Tack (Tessenderlo Group, $1.3 billion; €1.1 billion) and Jan Van Geet (VGP, $1.1 billion; €946 million) are also back on the list.
Who's the richest in the land?
The richest Belgian remains Eric Wittouck, who amassed his fortune as a shareholder in the Tiense Suikerraffinaderij sugar refinery and is active as an investor through his Luxembourg holding company Artal. Forbes estimates his fortune at 9 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros), which puts him in 392nd place in the global rankings.
He is followed by Nicolas Baron D'Ieteren (pictured with King Filip and Queen Mathilde (left)), scion and chair of the automotive group of the same name known as the Volkswagen importer and as car window repairer Carglass, with 5.5 billion dollars (4.7 billion euros). Fernand Huts, the entrepreneur behind the Antwerp port company Katoen Natie and industrial waste processor Indaver, completes the top three with $5.1 billion (€4.4 billion).
The fortune of Fabien Pinckaers, founder of business software developer Odoo, jumped from 3 to around 4.5 billion dollars (3.9 billion euros), putting him in fourth place. He shares this position with AB InBev shareholder Alexandre Van Damme, formerly Belgium's richest man.