BMW has been experiencing record sales and profits and this has helped propel BMW heir, Susanne Klatten, to the top of the list of the wealthiest people in the auto industry.
Forbes values the 50 year old German at $14.3 billion, up $1.3 billion from 2012. This makes Klatten the:
- Richest person to have made his/her money in the auto industry.
- 4th richest person in Germany
- 58th richest person in the world
How did Klatten accumulate her wealth? Ever hear of the Quandt family? Klatten inherited a stake in BMW from her late father, Herbert Quandt, who rescued the company from bankruptcy decades ago. The remaining Quandt heirs (Susanne, her brother, and her mother) are each billionaires and together own almost half of BMW.
Other notable billionaires on this list include:
No. 191 - Hyundai's Chung Mong-Koo ($6.3 billion)
No. 527 - Tesla's Elon Musk ($2.7 billion)
No. 1,175 - Roger Penske ($1.2 billion)