Despite stereotypical assumptions, the richest car guy on the planet is not even a guy, but rather a woman. According to Forbes Billionaires List, BMW heir Susanne Klatten is the richest person in the auto industry. The 50-year-old German is 58th richest person in the world with $14.3 billion, up $1.3 billion from a great 2012 year for the German automaker.
Susanne Klatten is the daughter of Johanna and Herbert Quandt who is regarded as having saved BMW when it was at the point of bankruptcy. Her father left her a 12.50% stake in BMW and was appointed to the supervisory board of BMW with her brother Stefan Quandt in 1997.
Klatten additionally controls chemical manufacturer Altana and holds stakes in wind power outfits and carbon and graphite producers.
Other billionaires to get rich through the car industry are Hyundai’s Chung Mong-Koo (No. 191, $6.3 billion) and notorious Tesla founder Elon Musk (No. 527, $2.7 billion). United States and China have the most auto-made billionaires, with six and five respectively.
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