I'm a simple emigrant and I have no empire to inherit

In Germany, it often stands out that there are quite a lot of wealthy people who seem to do nothing or do things but clearly not as profitable as their lifestyle suggests. And have you noticed that almost all small and medium-sized, and sometimes even large companies, are family-owned? Generational succession is the key to both of these aspects. Volkswagen, Lidl, Kaufland, BMW, Aldi, Metro, Continental, Phoenix Pharmahandel, Henkel, Ceconomy, Merck, Otto, dm-drogerie markt, Rossmann – these are all major representatives of family-owned companies. Not all of them are currently 100 percent owned by families, but in one way or another the control over the companies remains in the family. For example, Volkswagen AG is a public company; its shares are traded on the stock exchange, but the Porsche-Piëch family owns the Porsche SE holding, which in turn owns more than 53% of the voting shares of Volkswagen AG. And thus the family appoints board members and controls the group’s strategy and all key decisions. In Germany 90% of all enterprises are family-owned, but that is not the most surprising. In the USA, the UK and France, for example, their share is roughly the same. And what distinguishes Germans is the role of such companies in the global market. In the ranking of the 500 largest family-owned companies in the world, Germany ranks second, having 78 companies with total revenue $1.13 trillion and more than 3.35 million employees. Every third company in the EMEIA economic region is German. Among the top 5 global family-owned companies, two are from Germany: Volkswagen Group and Schwarz Group. Moreover, the latter is the largest family retailer in all of Europe. And here is the oldest European company in the index—the science and technology conglomerate Merck KGaA, founded in 1668. Besides these examples, there are countless “hidden champions,” that is global leaders in very narrowly specialized or high-tech niches. They achieved such success because they remained family-owned and could afford to invest in long-term research and technology, rather than constantly chasing short-term market or investor demands. Despite such global business, all these companies keep family control, and this is truly unique. German entrepreneurs have historically focused on resilience and stability, preserving reputation and passing the company to children. And they often have deep regional roots and feel their responsibility to society. The state supports them with legal backing, and favorable tax conditions when transferring the business to heirs. And banks also readily provide loans on special terms for family-owned companies. It seems to me that, on one hand, this is all very good, but on the other, many would look sideways at those who want to quickly create and sell a startup. But for those who would like to take over someone else’s family business and those who would like to pass such a business on but have no one to pass it to, there are specialized search funds. And what do you think about this? #work #Ordnung #taxes #madeinGermany