In the latest version of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, eight Swiss or Swiss-resident names figure among the 500 richest people in the world. The richest of the Alpine-based billionaires is Geneva-based Ernesto Bertarelli, who according to his own self-description is a “Swiss entrepreneur active in the fields of business, finance, sport and philanthropy”. Bertarelli is worth some $20.4 billion (CHF18.4 billion), according to the Bloomberg list, where he sits in 92nd place overall. Behind him in 241st spot comes fellow Swiss-based Italian Gianluigi Aponte, whose $10 billion fortune stems mainly from his ownership of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, headquartered in Geneva. Then there is Hansjörg Wyss (280th), Blocher siblings Magdalena Martullo and Rahel (334th and 342nd), and various shareholding families of pharma giant Roche: André Hoffmann (430th), Vera Michalski-Hoffmann (453rd) and Maja Hoffmann (454th). Americans in top slot Americans take nine of the top...
