Wealthiest Dutch getting richer; Max Verstappen new to Quote 500 list

The wealth of the 500 richest people in the Netherlands has increased again in the past year, according to the latest edition of the Quote 500. Striking newcomers to the list are Max Verstappen and Prince Bernhard van Oranje-Nassau. Heineken heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is again the richest Dutch person, though her wealth decreased slightly compared to last year.

The total wealth of the richest Dutch people increased by almost 5 percent last year to nearly 3,000 billion euros. The lower limit, the wealth of the person lowest on the list, rose by 10 million euros to 120 million euros. That wealth belongs to Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, who is also the youngest person on the Quote 500 this year.

Prince Bernhard enters the Quote 500 in 481st place. His wealth is estimated at 125 million euros. He owes the riches mainly to real estate investments and his software company Levi9. The Oranje-Nassau family as a whole is in 11th place among the wealthiest families, with a wealth of 1.2 billion euros. At the top of that list is the Brenninkmeijer family, known for the clothing store chain C&A, with 24 billion euros.

De Carvalho-Heineken continued her years-long streak as the richest Dutch person, though her wealth fell by just over 5 percent to 12.8 billion euros. She still stands head and shoulders above the others on the list. In second place is Luxaflex founder Ralph Sonnenberg, with an estimated wealth of 6.2 billion euros. Frits Goldschmeding, the founder of employment agency Randstad, closes the top three with 5.2 billion euros.

The highest new entrant is Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco, which builds electric buses. He came in 95th place with a net worth of 480 million euros. The company from Deurne, Noord-Brabant, received many new orders this past year and expanded its production capacity with an upcoming new factory in Rouen in France. When that location is fully operational, the company can roll 500 buses out of the factory annually, destined for different countries.

The biggest climber on the list is Jouk Pleiter, in 14th place. The CEO of the Amsterdam Backbase, a company that helps banks set up internet and mobile banking, saw his wealth increase more than ninefold to 2.3 billion euros. The biggest decliner is Jitse Groen, founder of Just Eat Takeaway, the parent company of meal delivery service Thuisbezorgd.nl. Groen, good for 285 million euros, is now in 175th place after seeing over three-quarters of his assets evaporate in a year. Last year he was in 34th place.

John de Mol dropped from place 18 to 22 with a wealth of 2 billion euros. Other celebrities on the list include theater producer Joop van den Ende (29th with 1.6 billion euros) and TV producer Reinout Oerlemans (268th with 210 million euros).