Rolf Gerling Net Worth & Biography

Rolf Gerling, a German billionaire who currently owns a net worth of $2 billion, is, as of now, ranked as the 512^th richest businessman in the world by Forbes magazine. He is one of the several wealthy persons we have covered on our blog who entirely earned their fortune from, or received a boost through inheritance. This business-oriented 68-year-old inherited a 94 percent ownership of Gerling Konzern from his father Hans Gerling, which was worth around $1.6 billion in 1992.

Today, the Gerling Konzern company is one of the largest writers of reinsurance policies in the world, and Rolf managed it until he sold his shares to the Talanx Group in 2005. He resides in Switzerland and now works mostly spends his time working with an environmental think tank that he established, called the Gerling Academy for Risk Research. In the 1990s, he played a major role in getting fifty insurance companies to sign a United Nations pledge to consider environmental issues and concerns in their business practices. He is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Germany and continues to be influential across the German business industry today. More details follow below.

Early Life: Education, Childhood

Rolf Gerling is the son of Hans Gerling, and the grandson of Robert Gerling. He was born in Cologne, Germany, on December 15, 1954

In 1904, his grandfather started a small insurance business which he called the Gerling Konzern. His father, Hans, grew that small business into a global insurance group which further expanded to become one of the leading writers of reinsurance policies in the world.

For his education, Rolf attended a Montessori school as a child. He later attended the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich where he studied analytical psychology.

Professional Life: Business Career

Rolf Gerling’s fortune was inherited from his family’s successful business which was started by his grandfather and later expanded by his father who eventually passed it on to him. The business in question here is the German insurer Gerling Konzern, which his grandfather Robert founded in 1904.

When his father who expanded the company and made it a renowned establishment died in 1992, Rolf took over the business, showed very little interest in handling it and saw the legacy of his family plunge into turmoil.

Losses from the September 11 attacks, in addition to mismanagement and costly asbestos claims led him to sell the company to Talanx group for an estimated $1 billion in 2005.

His assets as at this time, include real estate through firms like DufourIm AG, which is headed by his long-time confidant Heino von Have.

Personal Life: Residence, Wife, Private Interests

Gerling is a passionate environmentalist who remains dedicated to environmental causes. He leads a withdrawn life in Switzerland with his close family members and prefers not to disclose any of his private affairs to the public attention. There is currently no information concerning the identities of his family members and close relatives. Due to the nature of his business and his secretive lifestyle, the media is quite unaware of any details regarding his wife or kids. His sexual orientation is also yet to be confirmed at this time.

Rolf Gerling Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

For Rolf Gerling, wealth was something he did not really have to work for. He was born into a wealthy family and had himself surrounded with wealth from the start to the extent that he has never had any need to work to sustain his wealth. As it stands, this German-born businessman is credited with a net worth of $2 billion. Initially, he amassed the bulk of his wealth through his inheritance in Gerling Konzern, a German insurance business that his grandfather started and passed on to his father who later passed it on to him upon his passing in 1992. Gerling Konzern is now a global insurance group which is one of the world’s biggest writers of reinsurance policies.

Rolf Gerling took over the company after the death of his father, Hans Gerling in 1992. Trained as an economist, the businessman, 38 years old by then, showed little interest in the family business and eventually sold his 94 percent stake in the company to Talanx Group in 2005. Talanx is the third-largest insurance company in Germany. It bought the Gerling Konzern for roughly $1 billion in cash.

This billionaire is also known for his passion for environmental concerns and as an environmentalist residing in Switzerland. He helped institute the think tank Gerling Academy for Risk Research, which was set up for the purpose of studying the impact of the industrial world on the environment. A gentle soul and peaceful man, Rolf greatly adores his privacy and maintains a very quiet and reserved life.