Who are the biggest agri-millionaires of 2024?

The two largest billionaires in the agricultural sector became even richer last year. French fry man Kees Meijer is no longer a billionaire, but with his current wealth he still cannot complain. To stay in the fries: Piet de Bruijne of Farm Frites sees his wealth increase by no less than 86%. Good money was also made in the dairy trade. There is also a 'move' from the family list to the individual list, of the De Heus family.

The wealth of Piet de Bruijne of Farm Frites has skyrocketed, from €215 to €400 million. He even rises 152 places to 137. The business magazine attributes this to the price of fries, which rose faster than the price of potatoes, as Boerenbusiness also wrote. Also remarkable is the giant leap that Frank van Stipdonk of dairy trader Interfood is making. His estimated wealth increases by 58% to €404 million and he rises 94 places on the list to 135. The magazine does not provide an explanation, but it is easy to guess. In 2023, his company had the best year ever. 

In May of this year, the company presented a more than doubled net profit. Thijs Hendrix, co-founder of breeding company Hendrix Genetics, sees his wealth double to €340 million, putting him in 170th place.

Wijnand Pon is still the first agricultural billionaire we encounter on the Quote 500 list, although half of his wealth comes from cars. In 2023, according to Quote, a majority stake in the Urus Group, which sells bull semen and keeps cows and sheep, was sold. Pon's wealth rose by almost 10% last year to €4,5 billion. This moves him up one place to the fifth place of the richest Dutch people.

John Fenteren van Vlissingen also climbs the list, from twelve to nine. He is active in several sectors and also has a stake in the family business SHV, which is involved in animal feed, although the company Nutreco was sold last year. heavy losses collected. Alicia and Tannetta Fenteren from Vlissingen actually drop from position 26 to 30, while their wealth remains the same at €1,7 billion. Annemiek, Cisca and Marthe from the same family are at 33 (was 34) with 1,6 billion, an increase of almost 7%.

On the family list, the 'De Heusen' were in fifth place last year with €1,9 billion. Jobien, Co and Koen de Heus of the animal feed company that bears their name are now transferring to the Quote 500 list, because the business magazine received confirmation this year that they are the three shareholders. Their assets are also increasing, to €2,1 billion. Good for seventeenth place, and if we look at the agricultural sector, third place. The increase is perfectly consistent with the good financial performance of the family concern. 

French fry man is no longer a billionaire
The fortune of Kees Meijer from Zeeland went up last year due to the sale of Meijer Frozen Foods to Lamb Weston. However, due to the falling share price, his interest has become less valuable, writes Quote. The consequences are manageable, his fortune drops by 2,5% and amounts to €975 million.

With an increased wealth, you can also move down the list, if others become even richer. For example, the wealth of Marc and Addy van Rooi of the eponymous slaughterhouse increases by €5 million to €460 million, but they drop nine places to 119. Jaap Vreugdenhil, of the milk powder, drops from position 192 to 209, but he is still worth €295 million.

Richest families
Because the De Heus family is now in the top 500, the Van Drie family is the richest family in the sector. The owners of the VanDrie Group calf slaughterhouse have also become 21% richer than last year and are now worth €1,7 billion according to Quote. The wealth of the Van der Lely family, known for its milking robots, has grown by almost 9% to €760 million.

Linda van Eekeres

Linda van Eekeres is co-writing editor-in-chief. She mainly focuses on macro-economic developments and the influence of politics on the agricultural sector.

l.vaneekeres@boerenbusiness. Nl

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