Liebherr is vice chairman of Liebherr-International, a heavy machinery and construction conglomerate she controls with her brother Willi. The Bulle, Switzerland-based business is closely held, manufactures cranes, refrigerators, aircraft and mining equipment, and had revenue of 11.6 billion euros ($13.8 billion) in 2021.
Isolde Liebherr's net worth of $5.84B can buy ...
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The majority of Liebherr's fortune is derived from Bulle, Switzerland-based Liebherr-International, a family-owned heavy machinery and construction conglomerate founded by Hans Liebherr.
The business had revenue of 11.6 billion euros ($13.8 billion) and net income of 545 million euros in 2021, according to its annual report. It's valued using the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of three publicly traded peer companies: Terex, Wacker Neuson and Caterpillar.
The billionaire and her brother serve as vice chairman and chairman of the company's administrative board, while six of their children have executive roles. The two second-generation siblings are each credited with the fortune because of their leadership roles.0
Liebherr's likely to have collected more than 200 million euros between 2009 and 2021, based on the assumption that she's entitled to half of the dividends paid by the business and an analysis of information disclosed in the company's reported results. The net value of her cash investments includes these proceeds and considers taxes and market performance.
Kristian Kueppers, a spokesman for Liebherr-International, didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Isolde Liebherr was born in Kirchdorf an der Iller, Germany, in 1949, the year her father, Hans Liebherr, started a namesake construction-cranes maker. He moved the business from Germany to Switzerland in 1983 to avoid inheritance tax, and started Liebherr-International.
She started working in the family business in the mid-1970s, overseeing the real estate properties and hotel business. Her father died in 1993, when the closely held conglomerate had $2.5 billion in revenue, and had expanded to manufacturing heavy machinery for mining and aerospace operations as well as producing refrigerators. After her father's death, she took over Liebherr-International with her brother, Willi, having bought out their three other siblings.
Liebherr became the company's vice-chairman in 1999. She has three daughters and lives in Bulle.