Billions of dollars will buy a lot of food, and a handful of billionaires know how and where to collect that money.
With stakes in everything from candy making to groceries, at least nine of the world's 100 richest names have significant interests in multiple sectors of the food industry—and over half of them made their fortunes on beer and other beverages.
Food Dive picked these nine billionaires (based on Forbes' 2013 list of the world's billionaires, as calculated in March 2013) and designated them as our picks for the richest and most influential names in food:
9. CHARLENE DE CARVALHO-HEINEKEN
Rank: 94
Net Worth: $11 billion
Notable Company: Heineken
Heineken heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is one of the 20 richest moms in the world. Carvalho-Heineken inherited her 25% controlling stake in the Dutch brewer almost a decade ago when her father, Freddy Heineken, passed away. Unlike her father, who regularly hosted the Dutch royal family aboard his yacht, Carvalho-Heineken leads a more anonymous life. Her husband, investment banker Michel de Carvalho, is also on Heineken’s supervisory board and is a former child actor who appeared in 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia.
8. ZONG QINGHOU
Rank: 86
Net Worth: $11.6 billion
Notable Company: Wahaha
Zong Qinghou is chairman of China’s fast-growing homegrown beverage company, Wahaha, which makes bottled water, teas and other ready-to-drink items. The richest man in mainland China, he saw a 75% spike in his net worth over last year and his company reported a profit of $1.6 billion before taxes. Wahaha has recently started branching out into retail, opening Waow Plaza last year and planning several more city complexes. Zong’s daughter and heiress, Kelly, made news in January for her complaints that she is unable to find a boyfriend who isn’t interested solely in her father's money.
7. CHAROEN SIRIVADHANABHAKDI
Rank: 82
Net Worth: $11.7 billion
Notable Company: Thai Bev
In the past year, Thai Bev owner Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi saw his fortune double with the shares of his company. Thai Bev is the largest brewer in Thai Bev and produces Chang Beer, but Sirivadhanabhakdi has also attempted to grab soda market share in the country from Pepsi and Coke with the introduction of Est Cola. He has served as chairman of several other beverages companies, including Beer Thai Public Company Limited and the Red Bull Distillery Group of Companies, and is also the recipient of numerous honors and Thai royal decorations, including the Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant. In addition to his beverage interests, he has real estate properties around the world, including Bangkok’s Pantip Plaza and Manhattan’s Hotel Plaza Athenee.
6. ALEJANDRO SANTO DOMINGO DAVILA
Rank: 82
Net Worth: $11.7 billion
Notable Company: Santo Domingo Group
Tied at No. 82 with Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and one of the world’s 12 most eligible billionaire bachelors, 36-year-old Alejandro Santo Domingo Davila assumed control of the Santo Domingo Group upon the death of his father in October 2011. Among the beer fortune’s holdings is a 14.1% share of SABMiller, which counts Blue Moon among its 150 brands, worth almost $11.2 billion. The Harvard-educated Alejandro is also a managing director at New York-based investment advisory firm Quadrant Capital Advisors, and his family owns the Caribbean island of Baru, off the coast of Columbia. Over the years, he has been romantically linked to heiress Amanda Hearst and Sports Illustrated model Julie Henderson.
5. DHANIN CHEARAVANONT & FAMILY
Rank: 58
Net Worth: $14.3 billion
Notable Company: Charoen Pokphand
Dhanin Chearavanont’s Charoen Pokphand group began as a Bangkok seed shop set up in 1921 by Chearavanont’s father. Over half of CP’s sales come from Chinese chicken farms, feedmills, Lotus hypermarkets and the Superbrand mall in Shanghai. CP’s other interests include telecommunications, and its $9.4 billion acquisition of Ping An, the second-largest insurer in China, caught many off guard this past February. The 73-year-old Chearavanont is currently the richest man in Thailand and also raises chickens for sport.
4. FORREST, JACQUELINE AND JOHN MARS
Rank: 36
Net Worth: $17 billion
Notable Company: Mars, Inc.
The grandchildren of Mars founder Frank Mars--Forrest, Jacqueline and John Mars--own what is now the largest candy maker in the world following the $23 billion purchase of Wrigley in 2008, and are all tied for No. 36 on the list. Founded in 1911, Mars' products include Milky Way, Snickers, M&Ms, Skittles and 3 Musketeers, as well as consumer and pet food brands Uncle Ben’s Rice and Pedigree. Forrest once bought a stake in a Montana railroad to adjust its course, which was set to pass through his ranch, and Jacqueline was the 2012 recipient of the Foundation for the National Archives’ Heritage Award.
3. JORGE PAULO LEMANN
Rank: 33
Net Worth: $17.8 billion
Notable Companies: AB InBev and Burger King
Brazil’s richest man, Jorge Paulo Lemann, got where he is via takeovers of Anheuser Busch and Burger King. The 78-year-old businessman, along with fellow billionaire partners Marcel Herrmann Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, was behind 2008’s $52 billion AB InBev merger—a deal that earned the trio a fortune by itself. Likewise, his takeover of Burger King Worldwide Inc. resulted in the company becoming publicly traded once again this past June. Lemann is also a former professionally tennis player and five-time Brazilian national champion who played in the Davis Cup twice.
2. THEO ALBRECHT, JR. & FAMILY
Rank: 31
Net Worth: $18.9 billion
Notable Companies: Aldi and Trader Joe’s
Theo Albrecht, Jr. is the son of late Aldi Nord owner Theo Albrecht, Sr. Albrecht, Sr.'s parents founded the grocery store that he and his brother, Karl, eventually named Aldi (short for Albrecht Discount) when they assumed control following World War II. Upon splitting in 1960, the brothers formed Aldi Nord (North) and Sud (South). Theo, Jr., and his brother Berthold, who passed away in December at the age of 58, inherited Aldi Nord and specialty grocer Trader Joe’s when their father died in 2010. Berthold’s heirs—wife Babette and five children—all likely became billionaires upon his passing.
1. KARL ALBRECHT
Rank: 18
Net Worth: $26 billion
Notable Company: Aldi
As the owner of German grocery chain Aldi Sud, retired 93-year-old Karl Albrecht is easily the richest person in the food industry. Sure, you could argue that Wal-Mart’s Walton clan tops Albrecht, but Wal-Mart was successful before it added full groceries to its stores. Aldi owns 4,600 stores in nine countries, including 1,200 U.S. locations, and the stores keep costs low by not accepting credit cards. When his brother, Aldi Nord owner Theo Albrecht, Sr., was kidnapped in November 1971 and held ransom for what would now be €3.3 million, Karl negotiated his release.
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