Porsche and Piëch: Is there a Single Family Office?

Where does the wealth from the Porsche and Piëch family come from?

In 1930, Ferdinand Porsche founded Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH, which is now one of the world’s most famous luxury car manufacturers. Initially, the shares of the company were divided mainly between Ferdinand Porsche (80%) and the lawyer Anton Piëch (10%). After Ferdinand Porsche’s death, the shares were divided equally between the Porsche and Piëch families. The dynasty includes Ferdinand Piëch, the famous car manager and long-time CEO of Volkswagen AG.

The family members no longer sit on the management boards of Porsche and VW, but on their supervisory boards. This makes them one of the most important families in the German car industry. Their wealth is correspondingly high. It currently stands at around 30 billion euros.

How did the family company Porsche develop?

Started as a small engineering firm, the company initially developed cars for other companies. Among other things, Porsche designed the “Volkswagen Beetle” in 1934. Today, Porsche’s best-known cars are sports cars such as the 911 and Carrera GT. In recent years, Porsche has also sold SUVs such as the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche Macan. In 2009, Porsche tried to take over the closely related car manufacturer Volkswagen. The attempt failed due to problems with the necessary credit lines. Since then, the tables have turned and Volkswagen has taken over Porsche. As a result, the Porsche and Piëch families are also the main owners of Volkswagen.

Update 2024: In 2023 Porsche has annual revenues of €40.5 billion and is highly profitable. In terms of sales revenue, Volkswagen is still the largest car manufacturer in the world with €322 billion.

Do the Porsche and Piëch family have a single family office?

There is no known single family office for either family. The family’s assets are mainly based on shares in the listed company Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche Automobil Holding SE owns 30.9% of Volkswagen. The holding also invests in companies such as the PTV Group. Ferdinand Piëch sold the majority of his shares in the holding in 2017 and instead invests in real estate projects through a company of his own. Family members either invest on their own or simply rely on their Porsche stake.

How are the Porsche and Piëch families investing?

As mentioned above, family members have their own ventures and investments. Ferdinand Piëch is an active property investor in the Stuttgart region of Germany (where Porsche is from). Through Agron GmbH, he invests in several projects, such as Forum1 in Böblingen or the main buildings in Stuttgart’s city center. Susanne Porsche is an investor in the German construction company Finleap. Great-grandson Anton Piëch sets up his own car company.

This article is part of our detailed report “The single family offices of Europe’s richest families“.

Picture source: Valdemaras Januška