These are the richest billionaires in 18 European countries — and this is how they made their money

(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)

Europe's wealthiest individuals are a mixed group.

Some of them hold fortunes derived from centuries-old dynasties, while others are hard-nosed entrepreneurs who scrabbled up from humble backgrounds.

There are those in eastern Europe who made their money recently after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are industrialists from Scandinavia with fortunes derived from old industry, and there are some in Western Europe with ancient royal connections.

Business Insider has used Forbes' rich list to determine the wealthiest individual in each European state, ranked from the least-wealthy upwards.

In some countries, no residents made the Forbes list, and the countries were therefore not included in this ranking.

Mike Bird contributed to an earlier version of this post.

Romania's Ion Tiriac — NET WORTH: £804,000 ($1 billion)

(Wikimedia Commons / CC 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons / CC 3.0)

Romania's richest man is known as the "Brasov Bulldozer." A retired professional tennis and ice hockey player, he made his fortune following the collapse of Communist Romania in 1989 with a number of business investments across banking, retail, and insurance.

Monaco's Tatiana Casiraghi — NET WORTH: £1.8 billion ($2.3 billion)

Beer heiress Tatiana Casiraghi is Monaco's richest resident, and she also happens to be a royal there. Casiraghi inherited the bulk of her fortune from her late grandfather, who sold his Colombian brewery Bavaria for billions in 2005. She is married to Prince Andrea Casiraghi of Hanover, who is fourth in the line to the Monaco throne.

Finland's Antti Herlin — NET WORTH: £2.9 billion ($3.6 billion)

Finland's richest man made his money in an unlikely way — the escalator and elevator business. He's the great-grandson of Harald Herlin, who purchased the KONE engineering company in the 1920s.

Poland's Dominika & Sebastian Kulczyk — NET WORTH: £2.9 billion ($3.6 billion)

(Wikimedia / CC 3.0 (Wikimedia / CC 3.0)

The sibling pair share the fortune left by their father Jan, who died in 2015. They have run their father's portfolio of investments and assets since 2014.

Portugal's Americo Amorim — NET WORTH: £3.7 billion ($4.6 billion)

Amorim made his billions in Corticeira Amorim, the world's biggest cork company, which was set up by his grandfather. He also has holdings in Angola, a former Portuguese colony, and across Europe.

Belgium's Albert Frere — NET WORTH: £3.7 billion ($4.6 billion)

Frere is an investor who got rich on steel in the 1970s, and has since dipped into a range of other sectors. He's a baron, but that title that was given to him by the Belgian king.

Norway's Odd Reitan — NET WORTH: £6.8 billion ($8.5 billion)

(Wikipedia (Wikipedia)

Reitan made money in groceries and retail, setting up REMA 1000, which is currently the biggest supermarket chain in the country. In 2012, he wrote a book imagining that he could be appointed ruler of Norway by the King.

Switzerland's Ernesto Bertarelli — NET WORTH: £6.8 billion ($8.5 billion)

Bertarelli made a fortune from the sale of Serono, the pharmaceuticals firm that was founded by his grandfather. His wealth and investments are now largely managed through Waypoint Capital.

Cyprus' John Fredriksen — NET WORTH: £7.9 billion ($9.9 billion)

Fredriksen would be Norway's richest man had he stayed in his nation of birth, but he's now a citizen of Cyprus, and one of the world's most important oil barons. He made a huge amount of money transporting oil during the Iran-Iraq War.

Netherlands' Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken — NET WORTH: £9.3 billion ($11.7 billion)

The Netherland's richest person is heir to the Heineken brewing company. Her grandfather, Gerard Adriaan Heineken, set the company up in the late 19th century. She sits on the managing board of the firm.

Denmark's Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen — NET WORTH: £10.1 billion ($12.7 billion)

(CLAUS FISKER/AFP/Getty Images (CLAUS FISKER/AFP/Getty Images)

Kristiansen owes his fortune to Lego. He's the grandson of Ole Kirk Christiansen, who founded the toy company, and was Lego's CEO for a quarter of a century until 2004.

United Kingdom's Sri and Gopi Hinduja — NET WORTH: £11.6 billion ($14.6 billion)

The pair, who reside in the UK, are one-half of the so-called "Fantastic Four," a set of siblings in their seventies who run conglomerate company Hinduja Group, which is based in London. The firm owns Indian automotive manufacturer Ashok Leyland.

Austria's Dietrich Mateschitz — NET WORTH: £10 billion ($15.8 billion)

(Clive Mason / Getty (Clive Mason / Getty)

The Red Bull founder is Austria's richest man, and still holds nearly half of the shares in the company. If you're struggling with education, don't worry too much — it reportedly took Mateschitz 10 years to finish university.

Sweden's Stefan Persson — NET WORTH: £15.9 billion ($20 billion)

Persson is the largest shareholder in H&M, the massive European fashion chain. The company was founded by Erling Persson, his father, and his son Karl-Johan Persson is currently the CEO.

Germany's Georg Schaeffler — NET WORTH: £16 billion ($20.1 billion)

Georg Schaeffler owns 80% of industrial manufacturing company Schaeffler Group, while his mother owns the other 20%. The company produces rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace, and industrial uses.

Italy's Maria Franca Fissolo & Giovanni Ferrero (below) — NET WORTH: £19.8 billion ($24.9 billion)

The wife and son of the late Michel Ferrero owe their fortunes to Ferrero SpA, the confectionery company that bears their name, and of which Giovanni is CEO.

France's Liliane Bettencourt — NET WORTH: £30.6 billion ($38.5 billion)

Bettencourt is the "grand dame" of L'Oreal, and the richest woman in Europe. She and her children own 33% of the cosmetics giant. She suffers from dementia, which means her children now run her business affairs.

Spain's Amancio Ortega — NET WORTH: £56.6 billion ($71.1 billion)

Ortega is a Spanish business magnate who founded the Inditex fashion group. The group is best known for the Zara fashion chain. He is the second richest person in the world.

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