The rich do not have a particularly good image in Germany.

In hardly any other European society is “equality” seen and demanded more as a result than as equal opportunities in the political discussion.

Social differences are perceived as obscene, even well into the political class.

Carsten Germis

Business correspondent in Hamburg.

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The first five characteristics attributed to rich people in surveys in Germany are all negative: They are considered selfish (62 percent), materialistic (56 percent), ruthless (50 percent), greedy (49 percent) and arrogant (43 percent). The new general secretary of the largest ruling party, the SPD, Kevin Kühnert, has long since declared war on the rich in Germany.

“I cannot complain that wealth is distributed too unevenly, but then I have nothing on the pan to change that,” is his position.

And the rich Germans?

Hardly anyone dares to publicly contradict the populist image.

“The rich like to make themselves invisible in Germany.

They tend to be cautious about public opinion because they want to avoid distorted images, ”says Christian Freiherr von Bechtolsheim.

He himself is one of the wealthy in the Federal Republic.

"Cupping the rich"

The family operates around 100 hectares of agriculture and forestry in Upper Bavaria, plus around 400 hectares in Thuringia.

Together with Andreas Jacobs, he has also been running a family office with Focam AG since 1999, which is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany.

The company looks after around 40 clients with liquid assets of around 3 billion euros.

So from Bechtolsheim she knows the rich in the Federal Republic.

This is one of the reasons why he annoys the simple slogan that is widespread in politics and the media when the question arises of how the rapidly rising costs of the welfare state are to be raised: “The rich are cupping”.

Together with his fellow board member at Focam, Andreas Rhein, he interviewed wealthy Germans about this.

It is understandable when the rich in Germany make themselves “practically invisible” against the background of resentment in politics, media and society.

But this reluctance is not very helpful when it comes to transparently presenting and helping to shape the image of “the rich” and their contribution to community and society.

Family entrepreneurs have made Germany strong

In his opinion, family entrepreneurs in Germany in particular contribute a great deal to the country's prosperity, and their strong role has made the Federal Republic of Germany the pacemaker of economic development.

Medium-sized companies are "the basis of prosperity in Germany".

But “family entrepreneurs often encounter the image of the greedy rich - especially in politics and in published opinion.

That is absurd, because hardly anyone embodies the image of a social market economy like the middle class, ”says von Bechtolsheim.

How poisoned the climate of opinion is in the Federal Republic, he noticed when he tried to find interlocutors for the book "Fortune means responsibility", which was published together with Andreas Rhein.

A good 20 "rich", from the former AEG boss Heinz Dürr to the owner of the textile company Trigema, Wolfgang Grupp, and the entrepreneur Andreas Jacobs to the chairwoman of the board of directors of the Swiss Underberg AG, Hubertine Underberg-Ruder, were ready to find out about their prosperity and the Interview the role of the wealthy in society.

When asked about a book about the rich, there were many refusals

"Many people I asked canceled," reports von Bechtolsheim. “You definitely didn't want to be associated with the term wealthy or rich. This was particularly pronounced with women. That says a lot about the social climate. "

Whoever he asked: All interviewees said that wealth also means responsibility. Beyond the political populism of the left, this is also confirmed by the numbers. According to a study by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft in November 2018, ten percent of taxpayers in Germany pay more than half of the total income tax.