1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
PoliticsGermany

The world of Germany's superrich

28:34

This browser does not support the video element.

December 30, 2024

While the German economy navigates troubled waters, the lives of the rich continue on unaffected. This film takes a look into the largely closed-off world of the country's millionaires and billionaires - and at how the wealthy see themselves and their privileged lifestyles.

We talk to the CEO of a luxury watchmaker who says German industry suffers from overregulation, with insufficient rewards for taking risks. A well-off building contractor from Dusseldorf, on the other hand, explains how most of the country's millionaires acquire their wealth not from entrepreneurship, but from inheritance. He wants to see a drastic rise in tax rates for the rich, and the proceeds invested where they're needed, e.g. in infrastructure and education. This documentary also shows life at the Salem boarding school, where the wealthy pay tens of thousands of euros a year to send their children to school. For many, their education includes learning to take on the responsibility involved in later running their family-run businesses. The superrich live longer and enjoy special tax benefits. The suspension of a wealth tax in 1997 has reportedly cost the German state €380 billion in lost revenues. With the country facing a financial crisis, will its most prosperous individuals live up to their responsibilities that come with privileged financial power?

Skip next section About the show

About the show

Close up — The Current Affairs Documentary

Our weekly half-hour program delivers in-depth reporting on topical political issues and newsworthy events. Revealing the story behind the stories, Close Up is informative, gripping and visually powerful.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW