The economic significance of family businesses
Fifth edition
Family businesses are the job engines of the German economy: in recent years they have created more jobs than those DAX companies with dispersed ownership. This is one of the conclusions drawn in the fifth edition of the study series “The economic significance of family businesses”. Between 2007 and 2016, Germany’s 500 largest family businesses expanded their employment in Germany by 23 percent to 2.54 million people. In contrast, the 27 DAX companies that are not family businesses were only able to increase employment by 4 percent – to 1.55 million. Measured in revenue as well, the top 500 family businesses outpaced the 27 DAX companies, increasing their group-wide sales by 36 percent between 2007 and 2016. The 27 DAX companies increased their sales by only 29 percent.
Download the study (German)
Interactive graphic
To the press release (German): “Die TOP 500 Familienunternehmen bauen Beschäftigung in Deutschland um 23 Prozent aus.”
To the explanatory video
