Netherlands now has 56 billionaires, four more than last year
Jean-Louis van der Velde, the man behind Tether and Bitfinex, enters the annual Quote 500 list at number one, and the Netherlands now has 56 billionaires, four more than last year.
Crypto entrepreneur Jean-Louis van der Velde debuts at the top of the Quote 500 with an estimated fortune of €26bn. He pushes Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken off first place; her fortune is about €13bn, half of his.
The combined fortune of the 500 richest Dutch people rose 10% to just over €300bn. The entry threshold stayed at €140m, the same as in 2025. These are estimated fortunes.
Van der Velde has lived in Asia since the 1980s. Quote says it has now confirmed that he still holds Dutch nationality, which had long been unclear.
Another newcomer is Pim de Witte, 31, founder of AI company General Intuition. He debuts with an estimated €1.1bn, making him the youngest Dutch billionaire ever.
Fortunes rose in nearly all sectors. The exceptions were fintech firms Adyen and Mollie, whose valuations fell. Investor Tjitske Strikwerda lost €800m, to €1.9bn, as the share price of software firm Topicus dropped.
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Quote 500
The Quote 500 is the annual ranking of the 500 wealthiest people in the Netherlands, published by the Dutch business magazine Quote. It lists each person with an estimated fortune, so a top place means being estimated as the richest person in the country. Because it is based on estimates rather than official tax data, the figures are approximate and the order can shift from one edition to the next.