While many are familiar with names such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos when speaking about extremely wealthy people, names such as Eric Wittouck and Alexandre Van Damme may be less well known. These two men, however, are the richest two men in Belgium according to the list compiled by De Rijkste Belgen (The Richest Belgians) in 2023.
On top of the list of Richest Belgians is Eric Wittouck, worth $8 billion (approximately €7.6 billion). At 77 years of age, Wittouck lives in Monaco and built his fortune with a number of well-placed investments over the years.
Additionally, he is a descendant of the family that founded Tiense Suiker, which was later sold to the German company Sudzucker for €945 million. Ironically, he is now mostly known for having bought Weight Watchers with the money from the sale of Tiense Suiker.
While being the richest man in Belgium, Wittouck is only ranked 261 on the Forbes Billionaires 2023 list. Nicolas D'Ieteren, Catheline Perier D'Ieteren, and Luc Tack are the other Belgian names found on Forbes' list this year. Interestingly, these names will not be found in Belgium's top 10 list of richest Belgians (most names on that list are families and not individuals).
Second on the list of richest Belgians – the only other individual in the top five – is Alexandre Van Damme. Van Damme comes from the family that owned the Piedboeuf brewery which merged with Stella Artois in 1987. He is now director of and one of the largest shareholders in beer giant AB InBev. Van Damme also spread his assets to other companies such as Heinz Kraft, Burger King and Douwe Egberts, among others.
Wealthy Belgian families
Third on the list is a name often found next to Van Damme's: the de Spoelberch family. Alongside De Mévius, the three families owe their fortune to the largest brewery in the world. The assets provided by AB InBev have ensured that the three families' descendants will be well taken care of for generations to come. The total value of the de Spoelberch family's assets is €6.8 billion.
Coming in at fourth place are the André Emsens, Voortman, Cartier de Marchienne and van der Rest families, who are involved in the Etex and Aliaxis construction companies. Together, the group has assets of €3.6 billion.
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Finally, in fifth place is the De Mévius family – the last and smallest of the beer giant trio with assets amassing to €3.4 billion. Although the families of AB InBev suffered heavy losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, they still find their way onto the Richest Belgians list.
Besides these individuals and families, significant wealth is also generated in Belgium by huge companies such as Belgian investment group Ackermans & van Haaren and Duvel, a well-known Belgian brewery.
