Forbes: Aggregate Assets of Top 45 Wealthiest Slovaks Reach Almost €19 billion

Bratislava, October 9 (TASR) - Business monthly Forbes Slovakia on Wednesday released a ranking of the 45 wealthiest Slovaks, claiming that their total assets reach almost €19 billion, a yearly increase of €4 billion. Meanwhile, the assets of each of the top five most wealthy Slovaks exceeded €1 billion. "Most of the companies from the portfolios of the richest Slovaks have coped relatively well with the difficult times of increased inflation, the energy crisis and the onset of the war in Ukraine. Millionaires are diversifying their portfolios and making opportunistic decisions," said editor-in-chief Lucia Oksova. According to her, another reason for the year-on-year increase in their wealth is growth in assets from the portfolios of the top five. For instance, growth in the health-care sector raised the value of the assets of Tomas Chrenek and his Agel network, while the same applied to Jaroslav Hascak and Penta, whose flagship is the Dr. Max pharmacy chain. The biggest change in this year's ranking of the richest Slovaks according to Forbes came in first place, which this year was occupied by Tomas Chrenek, a steel magnate and co-owner of the Moravia Steel group. The cumulative value of his wealth reaches €2 billion, propelling him ahead of long-time leader Ivan Chrenko as the richest Slovak. Patrik and Jozef Tkac, who are behind the J&T group, have seen similar growth in their assets. This year, the monthly estimated their assets at €1.89 billion, with most of it coming from Jozef Tkac's more than 45 percent stake in J&T Finance Group. Jaroslav Hascak, who recently returned to the top management of the Penta investment group, occupied the next place with assets worth €1.8 billion. Fourth place in the ranking with assets of €1.4 billion is occupied by Ivan Chrenko, whose assets fell by €300 million year-on-year, the biggest drop in this year's ranking. The top five Slovak billionaires are rounded off by Ivan Jakabovic, a long-time partner of J&T and the second-largest shareholder in J&T Finance Group, who, thanks to the rising value of this asset, has amassed a fortune of €1.16 billion. zel/df