Yesterday the latest Quote 500 was published

A pandemic bad for the wallet? That doesn't have to be the case, as it turns out. The Netherlands has never counted so many millionaires as it does now. Unfortunately, I don't exactly count myself among them yet, but I’m working on it. The launch of the 25th edition of the Quote 500 took place yesterday in Amsterdam, and it turned out that the richest people in the Netherlands are doing well: the rich have only become richer.

The absolute numero uno is no longer a surprise. This year it was Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, and as her last name suggests, she is indeed the heir to the well-known beer brand. She is estimated to have a fortune of 13.5 billion euros, which is so incredibly much that I can't even really comprehend it. Mi gado, I say. By the way, this Charlene did have to ‘suffer’ during the pandemic: last year she had a two billion loss due to corona. But a company like Heineken can handle that just fine and comes back stronger than ever, because this year they had over eleven percent profit again.

I found the number two quite surprising. I certainly didn't see that coming at all. I couldn't have seen it, by the way, because I had never heard of the best man. But real estate entrepreneur Remon Vos is doing well: 5.7 billion euros. And yes, that's still almost eight billion difference with the number two. Eight. Billion. In 2019 he entered the Quote 500 as the ‘highest newcomer ever’, so I think this is someone from whom I would like to get business advice. Within three years to number two with multiple billions of euros to your name: tell me your secret.

The top 3 is rounded off by the founder of Randstad, Frits Goldschmeding: he can still count himself quite rich with 5.6 billion euros.

But to be honest: the people from the Quote 500 that we do know are a lot more interesting, right? Where the Quote 500 (previously the Quote 100) was once dominated by footballers, they now shine in their absence. Although they are certainly doing well, they don't have the 110 million euros needed to claim the last place. The athlete who comes closest to that is Max Verstappen, so who knows, he might get a spot on the list next year.

The celebrity who perhaps suffered the most loss (he saw an eighth (!) of his fortune disappear): John de Mol. Converted, that's about 300 million euros. Hoooly shit, I say. Still, he has 2.1 billion euros left, but it is still a remarkably large loss.

Never before has the compiled list been so intensely rich. If it is also your ambition to ever reach that Quote, then go into real estate or tech; the majority is indeed in that sector. The founders of Thuisbezorgd.nl, Coolblue, and Adyen, for example.

I'm still saving a bit, okay?