Riberas, founders of Gonvarri and Gestamp on Forbes' list of Spain's 100 richest people

In the list of the hundred richest people in Spain, there are no residents of Burgos and only one couple from Castilla y León, according to a ranking compiled by Forbes and published these days.

On the list there are only two well-known entrepreneurs with an industrial presence in Burgos and roots in Burgos, although they were born in Madrid. We are talking about brothers Juan Maria and Francisco Riberas, the largest shareholders of the Gestamp group. On the other hand, members of the Antolin family present in 2022 disappear from the list.

They are the children of businessman Francisco Riberas Pampliega, born in Rabe de las Calzadas in 1932. Soon after, he moved to Madrid with his family, and the outbreak of the civil war caused a series of difficulties and stays in different parts of Spain, until in 1958 he founded the company Gonvarri with three partners, whose surnames are the abbreviation of the company, made up of the first syllables of their surnames (González, Varela, Ruiz and Riberas), with a capital of 20,000 pesetas, as Juan de Lillo Cuadrado recalls in his book 'Francisco Riberas, against his destiny' (Oviedo, Nobel Publishing, 2004. ). Gonvarri has a strong plant in Burgos at the Burgos Este landfill, in Gamonal.

Francisco and Jon Riberas with their father Francisco Riberas Pampliega at the opening of the Gestamp plant in Palencia in 1997. Their sons Jon and Francisco, already born in Madrid but with Burgos origins and affection, run this family company, which Forbes describes as "one of the most famous companies in Spain in the automotive industry". Hon is also a shareholder in other investment companies and a partner of international chef José Andrés, while his brother controls General de Alquiler de Maquinaria (GAM). Francisco Riberas has transferred three GAM stakes of 5% each to his three children, Francisco Jose, Monica and Patricia Riberas Lopez, and, among other investments, holds a 5.4% stake in Atrys Health, with a valuation of 18.5 million euros. Forbes' 2023 list ranks Hon Riberas as one of the twenty richest people in the country. Specifically the €1.6 billion that Forbes attributes to him puts him at number 19 on the list after increasing his fortune by €600 million in the last 12 months. Jon Riberas moved from 25th in 2022 to 19th in 2023 and is ranked ahead of Simon Pedro Barceló Vadel and his family, owners of Grupo Barceló. The Ribera brothers with Philip VI, who visited the Gestamp factory in Palencia, coinciding with the Group's 25th anniversary.

At number 21 on the list of the 100 richest Spaniards of 2023 is Francisco Riberas, with a personal fortune of 1.5 billion euros. In the last twelve months, his personal fortune has increased by 400 million euros and he has risen from 24th place in the ranking to 21st.

The Antolins are coming off the list.

The rich are getting even richer. Far above the Antolins' fortune last year, the last spot on the list of the 100 richest Spaniards of 2023 is held by one of the oldest families on the list, as Forbes explains, headed by Alejandro Aznar Sainz, head of Naviera Aznar and the Marqués de Riscal wine company, among other entrepreneurial positions. Forbes estimates their fortune at 350 million euros, which shows how Spain's richest people have been able to increase their fortunes in the current context.

Castile and Leon loses representatives. Only Jesús Núñez Velázquez and María Carmen de la Fuente Núñez, owners of Gesbolsa, whose fortune is 1.2 billion euros, remain on the list of the 100 richest Spaniards of 2023. The company's portfolio combines most of the wealth of both from the sale of Alfonso X El Sabio University in 2019, as Forbes explains. Their capital is divided among three companies owned by Jesús Núñez, who holds the Gold Medal of Merit in Labor and various awards in the thriving private education sector. The family, Forbes continues, is currently affiliated with Logos International School (Núñez Garrido) in Las Rosas and Liceo Sorolla in Posuelo de Alarcón. Last year, Nunez was also present on the list, but with 260 million euros less in his personal fortune. In 2022, however, the presence of Castile and Leon was greater, as, in addition to the five members of the Antolin family, the list included Leon businesswoman María José Álvarez Álvarez Mesquiriz, executive chairman of the Eulen Group. Forbes estimated the personal fortune of this owner, including the bodega Vega Sicilia, at 225 million euros last year. Salamanca entrepreneur Javier Hidalgo Gutierrez, patriarch of Globalia, with a fortune of 125 million euros, was also present in this list of the largest fortunes.