There were 132 billionaires in Germany (excluding extended families) in 2024, making it the European country with the highest share of ultra-rich people and the fourth country globally.
This made us wonder—what educational background do the German elites have? Which universities did they attend?
To find out, ÃØÃÜÈë¿Ú-in-Germany.org analyzed the educational background of each billionaire on the . We discovered some universities were more popular among them.
We also looked into where the founders of leading unicorn startups studied to identify the top universities for this category.
Table of Contents
Insights
- According to our research and available data, 40 German billionaires completed their studies in a higher education institution in Germany.
- The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is the most popular for both billionaires and successful startups in Germany. Five current billionaires and 14 unicorn start-up founders attended TUM.
- Engineering and business administration (business studies) were two of the most popular study fields among billionaires in Germany who completed tertiary studies.
- Many other billionaires from Germany did not complete higher education and took advantage of the country’s strong focus on practical education.
- Germany’s three wealthiest individuals—Dieter Schwarz ($35.9 B), Klaus-Michael Kuehne ($34.5 B), and Reinhold Wuerth ($32.6 B)—began their careers in their family businesses after completing apprenticeships.
Here are the top universities attended by German billionaires:Ìý
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is the highest-ranking university in Germany, and it also has the highest number of billionaire graduates.
Five billionaires from Germany studied at TUM.
Georg Nemetschek, founder of Nemetschek Group, studied civil engineering at this university. His company is one of the largest software companies in Germany and his net worth is $4.9 billion.
The three young founders of Celonis, one of the world’s best process mining software, also went to TUM. Bastian Nominache ($1.2 B), Alexander Rinke ($1.1 B), and Martin Klenk ($1.2 B) met at the university and their company resulted as part of a study project.
University of Freiburg
The next popular study spot for Germany’s billionaires is the University of Freiburg. Three current billionaires studied there.
The German surgeon and entrepreneur Lutz Mario Helmig studied medicine at this university. His net worth is currently valued at $3.0 billion.
Another famous medicine student from the university is Andreas Strüngmann, a physician and businessman with a net worth of $11.4 billion. Together with his twin brother Thomas, they co-founded the generic drug company Hexal and were early investors in the pharmaceutical giant BioNTech.
Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammueller ($1.8 B) is president and chairwoman of the managing board of Trumpf, a market leader in machine tools and laser technology. She studied German and English at the University of Freiburg and later earned her doctorate abroad.
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)
Three other billionaires in Germany chose Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) for their studies.
Hubert Burda, owner and publisher of Hubert Burda Media, studied art history at the university. He inherited and ran his family’s media company, from which he has a net worth of $3.5 B.
Another publishing magnate who studied at LMU is Stefan von Holtzbrinck. After studying law and literature, he received his doctorate in media law from the university. As CEO of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, his net worth is valued at $4.9 billion.
Speaking of lawyers, Julia Thiele-Schuerhoff, a member of the supervisory board and daughter of the former chairman of Knorr-Bremse AG, also studied law at LMU. Her fortune is worth $2.9 billion.
University of Passau
Next on the list is the University of Passau, having been the university of choice for three German billionaires.
Anna Katharina is the daughter of the former CEO of Viessman Group, Martin Viessmann. She completed her bachelor’s degree in International Cultural and Business Studies at the University of Passau. Today, her net worth is an impressive $3.6 billion.
Friederike Braun-Lüdicke ($1.6 B) studied the same field—she holds a Diplom (M.A. equivalent) in International Cultural and Business Studies. She now leads culture and diversity initiatives at her family’s company—B.Braun.
Alfred Oetker of Geschwister Oetker has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion. He studied economics at Passau before stepping into his role as co-CEO together with his two siblings.
University of Karlsruhe (KIT)
Three German tycoons: Hasso Plattner, Stefan Quandt, and Dietmar Hopp studied at the University of Karlsruhe (KIT). Given the university’s strong focus on technical and engineering programs, it’s only natural that these billionaires are from these industries.
Hasso Plattner ($14.2 B) and Dietmar Hopp ($5.0 B) are two of the founders of multinational software giant SAP SE, which as of 2025 has a market cap of $323.72 billion. Both studied Communications Engineering at KIT.
Stefan Quandt is the richest in our list of billionaires with a higher education degree from a German university. He studied economics and engineering at the University of Karlsruhe. As the biggest shareholder in his family’s company, BMW, his wealth valuation stands at $20.9 billion.
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Three other current billionaires walked the halls of another university, the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU).
Hans Georg Näder studied business administration at FAU before taking on the management and growth of Otto Bock—his family business specializing in orthopedic technology. His current net worth worth is $2.6 billion.Ìý
Prof. Dr. Martin Viessman ($2.5 B), former CEO and chairman of the executive board of Viessmann Group also studied business administration at the university.
Eva Braun-Lüdicke ($1.6 B) is a shareholder in her family’s company, where she works as a Digital Campaign Manager. She has a master’s degree in American studies from FAU.
RWTH Aachen University
RWTH Aachen University is among the best technical universities in Germany. Two billionaires—Otto Happel and Peter Leibinger—studied there.
Otto Happel is the former owner and CEO of GEA Group, a family business that he transformed into a large-scale systems supplier of food, beverages, and pharmaceutical sectors. He earned a doctorate in engineering from RWTH Aachen, and has a net worth of $3.0 billion.
Peter Leibinger studied mechanical engineering at the university. He inherited shares in Trumpf from his father, which make up his $1.8 billion net worth.
University of Saarland
The University of Saarland has also been home to two of Germany’s wealthiest individuals.
Hans-Werner Hector, one of the co-founders of SAP, studied mathematics at this university. His fortune is valued at $2.3 billion.
Another notable alumnus is Thomas Bruch, who studied business administration at the University of Saarland. He is the owner of Globus, a very successful retail company that made him $1.5 billion.
The Full Table: List of Billionaires and Their German Alma Maters
The table lists billionaires and their Forbes Worldwide Ranking, Net Worth, Industry, Company, Age, and University (in this order).
Billionaire | Forbes Worldwide Ranking | Net Worth | Industry | Company | Age | University |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stefan Quandt | 95 | $20.9 B | Automotive | Bayerische Motoren Werke – BMW | 58 | University of Karlsruhe |
Hasso Plattner | 159 | $14.2 B | Software, Technology | SAP SE | 80 | University of Karlsruhe |
Thomas Strüngmann | 213 | $11.4 B | Pharmaceuticals | BioNTech | 74 | University of Augsburg |
Andreas Strüngmann | 213 | $11.4 B | Pharmaceuticals | BioNTech | 74 | University of Freiburg |
Ludwig Merckle | 236 | $10.8 B | Pharmaceuticals | Merckle Service GmbH | 60 | University of Mannheim |
Michael Otto | 474 | $7.6 B | Retail, Real Estate | Otto Group | 81 | University of Hamburg |
Maximilian Viessmann | 483 | $6.5 B | Heating, Cooling Equipment | Viessmann Group | 35 | Technical University of Darmstadt |
Wolfgang Marguerre | 536 | $6.0 B | Pharmaceuticals | Octapharma | 83 | Heidelberg University |
Horst Julius Pudwill | 558 | $5.6 B | Manufacturing | Techtronic Industries | 80 | Flensburg University of Applied Sciences |
Dietmar Hopp | 664 | $5.0 B | Software | SAP SE | 84 | University of Karlsruhe |
Stefan von Holtzbrinck | 686 | $4.9 B | Publishing | Holtzbrinck Publishing Group | 61 | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Georg Nemetschek | 697 | $4.9 B | Software | Nemetschek Group | 91 | Technical University of Munich (TUM) |
UÄŸur Åžahin | 695 | $4.9 B | Biotechnology | BioNTech | 59 | University of Cologne |
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg | 826 | $4.2 B | Ticketing Service | CTS Eventim | 73 | University of Bremen |
Anna Katharina Viessmann | 945 | $3.6 B | Heating and Cooling Equipment | Viessmann Group | N/A | University of Passau |
Hubert Burda | 972 | $3.5 B | Publishing | Hubert Burda Media | 84 | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) |
Otto Happel | 1152 | $3.0 B | Engineering | GEA Group | 76 | RWTH Aachen University |
Lutz Mario Helmig | 1164 | $3.0 B | Hospitals | Helios Hospital Group | 78 | University of Freiburg and University of Düsseldorf |
Julia Thiele-Schürhoff | 1166 | $2.9 B | Brakes, Investments | Knorr-Bremse AG | 53 | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Hans Georg Näder | 1284 | $2.6 B | Prosthetics | Ottobock SE | 63 | University of Erlangen-Nuremberg |
Hans Langer | 1328 | $2.6 B | 3D Printing | EOS GmbH | 72 | Technical University of Munich (TUM) |
Martin Viessmann | 1349 | $2.5 B | Heating and Cooling Equipment | Viessmann Group | 71 | University of Erlangen-Nuremberg |
Hans-Werner Hector | 1440 | $2.3 B | Software | SAP | 85 | University of Saarland |
Yvonne Bauer | 1528 | $2.2 B | Magazines, Media | Bauer Media Group | 47 | University of Bamberg |
Alfred Oetker | 1561 | $2.1 B | Consumer Goods | Geschwister Oetker | 58 | University of Passau |
Karin Sartorius-Herbst | 1581 | $2.1 B | Biopharmaceuticals | Sartorius AG | 70 | University of Göttingen |
Carsten Koerl | 1816 | $1.8 B | Sports Data | Sportradar | 60 | University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz |
Peter Leibinger | 1873 | $1.8 B | Machine Tools | TRUMPF | 58 | RWTH Aachen University |
Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller | 1873 | $1.8 B | Manufacturing | TRUMPF | 65 | University of Freiburg |
Regine Leibinger | 1873 | $1.8 B | Machine Tools | TRUMPF | 62 | Technical University of Berlin |
Ulrike Meister | 1902 | $1.7 B | Appliances | Rational AG | 57 | University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover |
Dr. Bernhard Braun-Lüdicke | 2010 | $1.6 B | Medical Technology | B. Braun | 48 | University of Kassel |
Friederike Braun-Lüdicke | 2010 | $1.6 B | Medical Technology | B. Braun | 41 | University of Passau |
Eva Maria Braun-Lüdicke | 2010 | $1.6 B | Medical Technology | B. Braun | 38 | FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg |
Thomas Bruch | 2128 | $1.5 B | Retail | Globus | 74 | University of Saarland |
Karin Schick | 2186 | $1.4 B | Information Technology | Bechtle AG | 54 | University of Tübingen |
Bastian Nominacher | 2463 | $1.2 B | Enterprise Software | Celonis | 40 | Technical University of Munich (TUM) |
Martin Klenk | 2493 | $1.2 B | Enterprise Software | Celonis | 37 | Technical University of Munich (TUM) |
Mathias Döpfner | 2570 | $1.1 B | Media | Axel Springer | 61 | University of Frankfurt |
Alexander Rinke | 2600 | $1.1 B | Enterprise Software | Celonis | 35 | Technical University of Munich (TUM) |
What About Billion-Dollar Start-up Founders?
Becoming a billionaire and maintaining that success takes a lot of grit and hard work, but many on our list are actually heirs to family businesses. To mix things up, we also checked out the founders of . A unicorn is a privately owned company worth over $1 billion.
We found that most of these founders have higher education degrees. When we looked at founders who studied at German universities, it turns out some schools are more successful than others.
The most popular universities for unicorn founders in Germany are:
- Technical University of Munich (TUM) – 14 founders
- Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (LMU) – 14 founders
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – 6 founders
- WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management – 6 founders
- Heidelberg University – 3 founders
- FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg – 3 founders
- Technical Univesity of Berlin (TU Berlin) – 2 founders
- Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden) – 2 founders
- Technical University of Chemnitz (TU Chemnitz) TU Chemnitz – 2 founders
The Full Table: Billion-Dollar Startups and Their Founders’ Academic Backgrounds
Company | Post Money Value | Total Equity Funding | Founders & Education |
---|---|---|---|
Celonis | $13B | $2B | Alexander Rinke (TUM), Bastian Nominacher (TUM), Martin Klenk (TUM) |
Personio | $8B | $724M | Hanno Renner (CDTM – TUM & LMU), Arseniy Vershinin (CDTM – TUM & LMU), Ignaz Forstmeier (CDTM – TUM & LMU), Roman Schumacher (CDTM – TUM & LMU), Jonas Rieke (CDTM – TUM & LMU) |
Mambu | $6B | $448M | Frederik Pfisterer (KIT), Eugene Danilkis (Not in Germany) |
Helsing | $5B | $830M | Gundbert Scherf (Free University of Berlin), Niklas Köhler (LMU), Torsten Reil (Not in Germany) |
Trade Republic | $5B | $1B | Christian Hecker (LMU), Thomas Pischke (LMU), Marco Cancellieri (LMU) |
wefox | $5B | $1B | Julian Teicke (Not in Germany), Fabian Wesemann (University of Passau), Dario Fazlic (No Info) |
World | $3B | $244M | Saturnin Pugnet (Not in Germany), Alex Blania (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) |
FlixBus | $3B | $1B | Daniel Krauss (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg), Jochen Engert (University of Stuttgart & WHU), André Schwämmlein (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) |
Enpal | $2B | $523M | Mario Kohle (WHU), Viktor Wingert (WHU), Jochen Ziervogel (WHU) |
Forto | $2B | $593M | Michael Wax (TUM), Erik Muttersbach (TUM), Fabian Heilemann (Heidelberg University), Ferry Heilemann (WHU) |
DeepL | $2B | $400M | Jaroslaw Kutylowski (University of Paderborn) |
TIER Mobility | $2B | $587M | Lawrence Leuschner (No Info), Matthias Laug (No Info), Julian Blessin (LMU) |
commercetools | $2B | $308M | Dirk Hoerig (TUM), Denis Werner (LMU) |
Volocopter | $2B | $544M | Alexander Zosel (KIT), Stephan Wolf (KIT) |
Razor Group | $2B | $355M | Tushar Ahluwalia (EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht), Shrestha Chowdhury (Did not study in Germany), Oliver Dlugosch (University of Düsseldorf & University of Freiburg), Christoph Felix Gamon (Did not study in Germany) |
Solaris | $2B | $553M | Andreas Bittner (No Info), Marko Wenthin (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management) |
SellerX | $1B | $830M | Malte Horeyseck (FOM University of Applied Sciences), Philipp Triebel (Not in Germany) |
Scalable Capital | $1B | $379M | Erik Podzuweit (Kiel University), Florian Prucker (TUM), Adam French (Not in Germany), Stefan Mittnik (TU Berlin) |
EGYM | $1B | $580M | Philipp Roesch-Schlander (TUM & LMU), Florian Sauter (TUM & LMU) |
Staffbase | $1B | $306M | Lutz Gerlach (TU Chemnitz), Martin Böhringer (TU Chemnitz), Frank Wolf (TU Dresden) |
1°´Ç³¾³¾²¹5° | $1B | $647M | Philipp Schröder (University of Hamburg), Micha Grüber (University of Hamburg), Jannik Schall (TU Dresden), Philip Liesenfeld (University of Münster) |
Grover | $1B | $283M | Michael Cassau (Heidelberg University) |
Taxfix | $1B | $330M | Mathis Büchi (Not in Germany), Lino Teuteberg (University of Applied Sciences Potsdam) |
OneFootball | $1B | $381M | Lucas von Cranach (Heidelberg University & TU Berlin) |
Raisin | $1B | $271M | Tamas Georgadze (University of Giessen), Frank Freund (University of Mannheim & University of Erlangen-Nürnberg), Michael Stephan (LMU & WHU) |
Chrono24 | $1B | $206M | Dirk Schwartz (KIT), Michael Krkoska (KIT), Tim Stracke (KIT) |
ABOUT YOU | $1B | $300M | Hannes Wiese (WFI – Ingolstadt School of Management & HHL Leipzig), Sebastian Betz (No Info), Tarek Muller (No Info) |