These are the agricultural millionaires of the Netherlands

The Quote 500 is out again. The ranking of the wealthiest Dutch people this year has almost 60 agricultural entrepreneurs. The poultry sector in particular performed well last year, although we also see striking newcomers from the dairy and vegetable seed sectors.

The first 25 agricultural headlines we encounter in the 500 Quote 2019 are familiar faces and the shifts in this section of the ranking are limited. Just like previous years, Wijnand Pon is at the top. His net worth is estimated at €2 billion, which comes from his dairy farms and semen trade, among other things. It gives him a twelfth place, while he last year was just in the top 10.

A little further down the list we find the Fentener-Van Vlissingen family of SVH (Nutreco) with assets between €490 and €795 million. The most striking shift in the top half of agricultural millionaires is the Van den Brink family. Father Bert rises almost 50 places to 85th place this year and is estimated to have a net worth of €450 million. Rik, Willeke and Jolanda van den Brink follow in 92nd place. Their assets grew from €210 to €400 million, partly due to the sale of a chicken slaughterhouse in Russia. 

New seed companies
There are also newcomers. Lara Timmerman and her cousin Arwin Vriend, for example, are in 200 and 218 with a capital of €219 million. These 2 run the company Pop Vriend Seeds from Andijk, which was taken over by the German KWS in June 2019. The 85-year-old Simon Groot was also not mentioned in the Quote 500 before. The founder of East-West Seed in Enkhuizen won the Nobel Prize for the agricultural sector this year. With a net worth of €150 million, he is in 295th place. 

However, it is not only seed entrepreneurs who are on the list for the first time this year. Also new in the ranking: Gerjhan Roerink. The dairy entrepreneur from Twente is in 140 place with €322 million. And just barely in the Quote 500 of 2019 are newcomers Diederik and Dennis Vergeer. The cheese makers are, with a capital of €88 million, good for place 498.

potato processors
Piet de Bruijne of Farm Frites is climbing up considerably, just like last year. His net worth (€190 million) lifts him 40 places to 231. Other potato processors in the list are Kees Meijer in a fairly stable position 84 and Gerard Kroef (Peka Kroef) in 314.

As in previous years, Quote 500 has also made a top 50 of the wealthiest families. In it we see the same families as in previous years. The Van Drie family (calves) is now in 7th place above the De Heus family (cattle feed), which drops 1 place to 8th this year.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.