The few East Germans on the list of the richest

Stephan Schambach

Photo: Newstore

They do exist, the economic success stories in the East.

Several entrepreneurs have found their paradise there, as the report by mm editor Eva Buchhorn showed on the 30th anniversary of the turnaround.

There is also progress on a large scale, as the settlement of Tesla in Grünheide (Mark) with the, according to company boss

(49), "the most important car factory in the world" underscores.

It is true that none of the eastern German states has managed to catch up with the economic power of even the weakest western states.

Nevertheless, 30 years after German reunification, economic studies found evidence of a "win-win situation" or even "blooming landscapes" (Prognos Institute on behalf of ZDF).

However, some hard facts remain that help explain the feeling of permanent separation.

Even the search for corporate headquarters that represent economic power is arduous in the east of the country.

As successful as many companies in the East are, they are usually controlled by parent companies from the West - apart from the regionally strong medium-sized companies, which, however, hardly reach a critical size.

The balance becomes even clearer if one looks at the personal assets that the recently published mm list of the 500 richest Germans reveals.

The billionaires who moved from Potsdam

Among the 176 billionaires in the country there is no one from the East - unless you include people who have moved to the country, such as publisher

(78, 42nd place with 4.1 billion euros in assets) or her chosen successor

(57), both of whom live in Potsdam - or even SAP co-founder

(76, 14th place with 11 billion euros), who has an institute and at least a second home there.

Then there are a number of entrepreneurial families who bought in in the east and chose their company addresses there, but kept their actual home in the west: for example, the

beverage

(Rank 176 with 1 billion euros) from Rheinhessen, the German sparkling wine market leader Rotkäppchen -Mumm belongs to the model company from Saxony-Anhalt;

the Berlin furniture magnate

(72, 166th place with 1.1 billion euros) in Schönefeld in Brandenburg;

the

paper manufacturers

from Schrobenhausen in Bavaria with Leipa in Schwedt (Oder);

or the Siegen steel entrepreneur

(each ranked 411 with 0.4 billion euros) with their holding company in Freital, Saxony.

The entrepreneurial

of

(70), who made his fortune of around 600 million euros (rank 283) with the Magdeburg energy service provider Getec, is

not much more uplifting for born GDR citizens or children of the upheaval in the post-reunification period

.

In 1990, Gerhold was sent by Lower Saxony to build the government of the partner country Saxony-Anhalt and then went into business there.

He prefers to keep the holding company at home in Hanover.

From Intershop and VEB

So only a few East Germans remain on the richest list.

(50) from

Thuringia

and

(69),

who was born in Mecklenburg,

are each with around 350 million euros (

).

Schambach is already used to the role of the paradeossi.

In the 1990s, the serial founder consciously named his e-commerce company Intershop, after the GDR chain of stores.

Intershop from Jena caused a sensation on the Neuer Markt and in Silicon Valley - and was hit hard by the bursting of the new economy bubble.

But Schambach continued with the successor company Demandware, which was sold to Salesforce in 2016.

He is currently trying his luck again with NewStore in Boston.

Loclair was already successful in business in the GDR - as good as it could be, as operations director of VEB Spezialfarben Oranienburg.

After the fall of the Wall, this company went through the process that meant the end for many others: privatization by the Treuhand.

With the brand name Orafol, the adhesive technicians found a buyer from West Berlin, who ultimately entrusted Loclair with the management and the majority of the shares.

After all, an industrialist from the east can be found in the east among the 500 richest Germans.

If the list were longer than last year, it would probably have included

(43), a farmer's son from near Rostock and now at home in Potsdam.

The chairman of the supervisory board of TAG Immobilien and dazzling multi-investor with changing skills came in 2019 with around 300 million euros in 524th place in the 1001 richest list at the time.

However, Elgeti let it be known that manager magazin valued him too richly.

At least that doesn't happen to many East Germans.