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Austrian Schaeffler tops German rich list

An Austrian woman is the richest person in Germany, according to business magazine Bilanz.

Published: 8 September 2014 12:23 CEST

Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler (73) has Austrian and German citizenship. She and her only son, Georg (49), are proprietors of INA Waelzlager Schaeffler KG, one of world's largest producers of roller bearings and machine components, and possess a fortune of €21.5 billion.

Schaeffler Group also owns 36% of the tyre and auto parts giant Continental AG.

Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler took over INA in 1996 following the death of her husband, Georg. Her son, also named Georg, has been at her side helping to run the business since 2009. His father and uncle founded the company in 1946, first making wooden spoons, clothespins and rakes. Georg currently owns 80% and Maria-Elisabeth, 20%.

Maria-Elisabeth was born in Prague in 1941, and grew up in Vienna.

The Albrecht family, owner of the discount supermarket chain Aldi, comes second and third place in Bilanz’s rich list.

Austria’s rich list is topped by the Piech and Porsche families – with a combined fortune of €44.8 billion.

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MONEY

What we know so far about Austria’s new €2,000 grant for home improvements

Austria wants to heat up the real estate and construction sectors - and is offering grants to people who have had work done on their homes.

Published: 16 April 2024 16:26 CEST
What we know so far about Austria's new €2,000 grant for home improvements

Austria’s federal government had announced plans to avoid a housing crisis in the country, with measures including cheap loans, new builds and tax deductions announced, as The Local reported in February.

One of the measures announced was a so-called Handwerkerbonus, or a “tradesperson bonus,” set up to incentivise people to do more construction work and renovations in their homes. It was announced that in 2024 and 2025, anyone commissioning tradespeople would be able to claim €2,000 in grants from the federal government. 

Even though the bonus was much publicised at the time, little was known about the application process. However, Austria’s Ministry of Economics has finalised the details and guidelines for the bonus, as Austrian media reported.

READ ALSO: How Austria’s new plans to avoid a housing crisis will affect residents

Online requests from July

From July 15th, people in Austria will be able to apply for the Handwerkerbonus online through a dedicated website that will be online “soon.” People will be able to submit invoices retroactively, and any work done by a craftsperson from March 1st will be eligible for reimbursement.

According to the daily Der Standard, the online application will be “quite simple.” For reimbursement, people will have to upload the worker’s invoice and fill in their details, such as name, address, and bank account number (IBAN). An ID-Austria registration or photo ID upload will be used for identification.

The federal government is earmarking €300 million for the bonus.

How much will be reimbursed?

Householders can claim up to a maximum of €2,000 – but you can only claim up to 20 percent of the total invoice amount, as the government had announced. People can apply twice, once in 2024 and once in 2025. 

The application is also per person, so a household with two people could apply for up to € 4,000, for example. Additionally, several smaller invoices can be combined into one – with a lower limit of €50. 

READ ALSO: How self-employed people in Austria can get a €100 bonus from social security

The grants can be claimed by anyone who has had work done, you do not need to own your own home – although tenants will need approval from their landlord for any major works.

What type of work counts for the bonus?

The applications are very broad, and many types of “craftmanship” work could be reimbursed. This includes new tiles on the terrace, renovation of the façade, or new paint in the children’s rooms, as Der Standard reported. 

Labour services in connection with house construction are also eligible for subsidies under the guidelines.

“The bonus is intended to support people who have manual work carried out and also to benefit the regional economy such as installation or electrician companies, roofing companies or builders”, said August WÖginger, a government parliament member. 

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