BERLIN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Germany's 1,000 richest people have increased their wealth by 3.3 percent to 1.053 trillion euros (1.151 trillion U.S. dollars) in assets as reported by the German magazine Bilanz, the media company Axel Springer announced on Thursday.
Compared to 2018, the number of billionaires in Germany grew by 31 to a new record of 259, each with assets worth one billion euros or more, according to Bilanz.
The founder of the German discount supermarket chain Lidl as well as Kaufland, Dieter Schwarz, continued to be the richest German. He currently holds assets worth 41.5 billion euros.
With a turnover of 104.3 billion euros, the Schwarz Group, which controls Lidl and Kaufland, is the largest family-owned business in Germany and Europe's largest retail company.
According to Bilanz, the second and third richest Germans are the family of Theo Albrecht Jr., who controls the German discount supermarket chain Aldi Nord, and the family of the Wolfgang Porsche, with stakes in the sports car manufacturer and in Volkswagen.
Both families currently hold assets worth 18 billion euros, according to the German magazine.
Including the assets of the 16 wealthiest large family associations in Germany, the country's wealthy elite controlled a total of almost 1.2 trillion euros, which is around a third of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP).
Within Germany, most of the assets are in North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by the rich south -- Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg -- the magazine Bilanz found. By contrast, eastern Germany remained "sparsely populated with financial assets."
