Mother and son lose $ 16 billion in 2018 as Continental dives

Majority shareholders of German auto parts maker Continental have lost about $ 16 billion, more than half of their total wealth, so far this year.

Continental President Georg Schaeffler and his mother, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann, Vice President, saw their fortunes collapse after the company announced additional costs and difficult economic conditions in Europe and Europe. in Asia would weigh on profits. A senior executive said this week that the challenges will persist until 2019.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, they now stand at $ 14.1 billion, after the biggest drop in wealth recorded this year by the wealthiest families in Europe. The mother and son also control Schaeffler AG, a German listed engineering group that has been under the same pressure as Continental, the world's second-largest manufacturer of auto parts. Shares of both companies plunged more than 40% this year.

Georg Schaeffler, 54, inherited 80% of the business with the last name when his father died in 1996, while his mother inherited the rest. She then orchestrated one of the largest hostile takeovers in Germany by acquiring Continental more than ten years ago. $ 17 billion.

He is now the 113th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg index.

© 2018 Bloomberg L.P