The rankings were published in Forbes magazine, and according to the monthly, the top five on the list are the same as last year, only that they have all increased their fortunes, in spite of the oft-discussed global credit crunch.
Jan Kulczyk, who has a PhD in international law, was swift to make his fortune as communism collapsed in Europe, securing a deal as early as 1988 as the sole official dealer of Volkwagen and Audi in Poland. He consolidated his fortune in the brewing, telecommunications and oil industries.
New arrivals in Forbes’ top ten are Tadeusz Chmiel, the force behind the Black Red White furniture company, and Dariusz Milek, who blitzed his way onto the list with his shoe company, CCC.
The only woman currently on the list comes in as a joint entry, that of Anna Woźniak-Starak with her husband Jerzy Starak (see below). (nh/jb)
Poland’s Richest Top 10 (Figures in PLN billions)
1. Jan Kulczyk / 7,4 / brewing, infrastructure, motorisation
2. Zygmunt Solorz-Zak / 7,2 / media, finance
3. Leszek Czarnecki / 5,9 / finance, real estate
4. Michal Solowow / 5,5 / bathroom appliances, construction, real estate
5. Jerzy Starak, Anna Woźniak-Starak / 2,95 / pharmaceuticals, food industry
6. Roman Karkosik / 2,7 / chemical industry and metallurgy
7. Tadeusz Chmiel / 1,65 /furniture
8. Jaroslaw Pawluk / 1,6 / transport
9. Dariusz Milek / 1,55 / shoes
10. Jozef Wojciechowski / 1,4 / construction, real estate