Who are the richest people in Catalonia and what do they do?

BarcelonaAmong the 20 richest people in Catalonia on the list from Forbes magazine There are only six women, but Sol Daurella Comadrán, president of the giant Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), who succeeded Isak Andic (Mango) – who died at the end of last year – is the first. The podium is completed by Manuel Puig Rocha (Puig Brands) and Manuel Lao (Nortia Capital).

In addition, 15 of those on the list are men. They are heirs of the founders, who, in any case, have expanded the business. Only Manuel Lao, Juan Llorens (Llotor), Miguel Tomàs Arrufat Pujol (Proeduca Altus), Ricardo Portabella (Anpora), and José Elías Navarro (Audax), among these top 20, are founders of the businesses. And who are the 10 richest, or more specifically, the 10 billionaires, and what do they do?

SOL DAURELLA COMADRÁN (COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS)

Discreet and not fond of the spotlight, Sol Daurella Comadrán (Barcelona, ​​1966), president of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the world's leading bottler, has a fortune of around 2.9 billion euros, according to the magazine ForbesShe represents the family branch with the largest stake, 34.95%, through Olive Partners, of which the family firm, Cobega, holds the majority. In a recent and highly unusual interview on RAC-1, this business administration graduate and expert equestrian declared herself "a family lover and passionate about her business."

Daurella, who is also a board member of Banco Santander, is married to Carles Vilarrubí, a close associate of Jordi Pujol, former director of Catalunya Ràdio, the Catalan Lottery, former vice president of FC Barcelona, and president of the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy. They have a daughter together, Sol; another son, Josep, is from her previous marriage to Joan Albiol, who is on the board of Cobega, and from Vilarrubí's previous marriage, Carlota Vilarrubí Jordà, a doctor and also an equestrian.

The president of CCEP has a sister, Eva, who lives in Seville and owns the Cantalobos stud farm, thus continuing the family's passion for equestrian sports. They are the daughters of Anna Maria Comadrán and Josep Daurella Franco, son of the cod fishing industrialist Santiago Daurella Rull and Pilar Franco, founder of the business with a contract with Coca-Cola since 1951. In 2016, CCEP was born from a merger with other bottling companies, and it is now a multinational corporation.

Josep, Sol Daurella's father, had three siblings: Francisco, Victoria, and Mercedes, who make up the four branches of the family. The second branch originated from Francisco. He married Carmen de Aguilera, and one of their daughters, Carmen, is currently the fifth richest person in Catalonia, with 1.6 billion euros. Alicia, Mercedes, and Elena Daurella are her sisters. Her ex-husband, Mario Rotllant Solà, founder of Bodegas Roda and Doro olive oils, is a board member of the group; and one of their daughters, Melina, a wine entrepreneur and equestrian, recently became Countess of Fuenrubia, a title inherited from her grandmother, María del Carmen de Aguilera y de Fontcuberta. Mercedes, another daughter of the founder, married Alfonso Líbano Pérez-Ulibarri, and they had two children: Pilar and Alfonso Líbano Daurella, who is currently on the company's board. And the fourth daughter, Victoria, married to José María Figueras-Dotti, had two daughters: Victoria and Paloma, who are also represented in the group.

MANUEL PUIG ROCHA (PUIG BRANDS)

Manuel Puig Rocha (1961) is the only son of Antonio Puig Planas, one of the four descendants of Antonio Puig Castelló, founder of what is now Puig Brands, a multinational cosmetics, perfume, and fashion company listed on the Ibex 35. The four branches of the family, descended from the brothers Antonio (Puig Rocha), Mariano (Puig Guasch), Josep Maria, and Enric (Puig Alsina – both surnames are the same), are one of Catalonia's leading business families.

This industrial engineer, representing the second-largest shareholder branch of the family after that of the president, Marc Puig Guasch, is vice president of Puig. He also owns 8% of Fluidra, another Catalan company listed on the Ibex 35. He is a board member and maintains an alliance with the Godia family. He also sits on the board of Colonial, in which the family holds shares, as well as Adolfo Domínguez, Flamagás, the producer of Zippo lighters; Alpino pencils; Isdin, where they share a 50% stake with the Esteve family; and Lonia, the second largest textile company in Galicia, with brands such as Carolina Herrera and Purificación García. Their fortune is estimated at around 1.8 billion euros.

MANUEL LAO (NORTÍA CAPITAL)

Manuel Lao Hernández (Doña María, Almería, 1944) is the third richest person in Catalonia, with a fortune of €1.7 billion. He arrived in Terrassa in 1956. After starting out helping out in a bar, he soon opened his own. With a keen business sense, he used to jokingly explain how many glasses he could get from a bottle of cognac and how much he could charge for each one. His big break came with the legalization of gambling. In 1978, they founded the company that would become the Cirsa gambling empire. His brother Juan, with whom he had begun his venture, decided in 1998 to pursue his own business path through Conei, also dedicated to gambling. Married to Rosa Gorina, Manuel Lao has three children: Manel, Esther, and Ingrid, who are all part of the family business. After selling Cirsa to the US giant Blackstone in 2018 for over €2 billion, Lao continued to increase his wealth through Nortia Capital. This born entrepreneur, one of the key figures responsible for the high average income in the municipality of Matadepera, holds stakes in Merlin and Sacyr, and has real estate investments such as the building on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona that houses Casa Seat, and the Pulitzer hotels, which are a continuation of the original Hotel Cándido in Terrassa, built in 1992. He also retained casinos and resorts in Latin America, which he did not sell to Blackstone. Nortia is also part of the Hyperion fund, headed by former PP leader Pablo Casado and Ricardo Gómez-Acebo, nephew of Ana Botín (Santander).

JOSEP MARIA SERRA FARRÉ AND FAMILY (WESTERN)

Josep Maria Serra Farré (Manresa, 1944), with a fortune of €1.6 billion, represents the family that controls the capital of Catalana Occidente, now known as Occidente and, following the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, headquartered in Madrid. The family owns more than 60% of the group through Inocsa. They are currently launching a takeover bid to delist Occidente, which is part of a consolidated group that generated nearly €6 billion in revenue in 2024. In addition to Occidente, the group controls the credit insurance giant Atradius and Mémora, Spain's leading funeral services provider. The Serra family holds the majority stake, but other prominent members of the upper class, such as the Juncadella family, also have holdings. Hugo Serra Calderón, Josep Maria's son, is currently managing the company. Married to lawyer Ana María Gamazo, he is an expert skier and a lover of music and sailing, a passion likely inherited from his grandfather and the group's founder, Jesús Serra Santamans, a driving force behind the Llafranc nautical club, former president of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, and a lover of the arts and sports, who was kidnapped by 10. The majority shareholding is distributed among three branches: the Serra Calderón family (children of Josep Maria Serra Farré), the Enrich Serra family, and the Halpern Serra family, represented by Assumpta and Josefa Serra Farré, respectively, who are also on the list, with a fortune of 810 million. There is another branch, that of Jesús Serra Farré, who separated from the insurance group in 2009 and owns the Baqueira-Beret ski resort and its hotels.

JOSÉ LLORENS TORRÀ (LOTR AND EPSA INTERNATIONAL)

José Llorens Torrà (Sedó, 1944). The owner of Llotor and Epsa Internacional, the sixth richest Catalan in 2025 with a fortune of €1.4 billion, is one of those businessmen who can walk down the street without being recognized. Llotor is a holding company with businesses in several countries and real estate investments. Its main company is Epsa International SA, dedicated to construction. The company is the main contractor for Stanmore Resources, an Australian mining company, and also leases large tracts of land in Amazon. One of its activities is earthmoving for mining and infrastructure projects worldwide. As the company grew, it moved to Madrid. It has various investment companies, livestock businesses, and shopping centers. His firm has sponsored football teams in his native Segarra. He has four daughters and a son who work in the group: Mercedes, Ana, Ramón, Cristina, and Montserrat Llorens Torrà.

MIQUEL TOMÀS ARRUFAT PUJOL (PROEDUCA ALTUS)

Miquel Tomàs Arrufat Pujol (Amposta, 1961) is the seventh richest Catalan, with a fortune of around €1.3 billion, thanks to the online university business. He is the main shareholder of the Proeduca Altus group, which went public in 2019. He controls 50.013% of the capital through the company Proeduca Summa. This education sector company controls UNIR, the International University of La Rioja, which has a presence in Spain, the US, and Latin America. He has also been the majority shareholder of the Europa Press news agency for a few months. Married to Carolina Farell Garrigós, he has six children and has been living in Madrid for several years. The couple heads the Arrufat Farell Foundation, based in Madrid and dedicated to education. His wife was president of the Red Madre Foundation, linked to pro-life movements.

CARMEN THYSSEN

Carmen (Tita) Cervera (Barcelona, ​​1943) recently changed her name to Carmen Thyssen Cervera Fernández, giving prominence to the surname of the baron she married, who died in 2002. Today, she has one of the largest art collections in Europe, exhibited at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid. The Carmen Thyssen Museum is scheduled to open in 2028 in the Marcet Palace, which until 2024 housed the Comedia cinema, at the intersection of Passeig de Gràcia and Gran Via in Barcelona. The initial plan is for her 18-year-old daughter, who shares her name and whom she had with her twin sister, Sabina, via surrogacy, to manage the museum in the future. She resides in Andorra and has a substantial real estate portfolio.

JORDI RUBIRALTA GIRALT AND BROTHERS (WERFEN)

A member of the family that owns the medical diagnostics giant Werfen, he ranks among the wealthiest people in Catalonia with €1.2 billion, followed by his brothers José Luis, Xavier, and Marc, each with €1.1 billion. After handing over the presidency to his brother Marc, he heads the family office Yukon Capital, with real estate and business investments. Both Jordi and his siblings, who sit on the board of directors, are not inclined to seek the public eye and are avid skiers.

The group's origins trace back to the late brothers Francisco and José María Rubiralta, from Manresa. They founded the steel company Celsa in 1967 and later acquired the hospital equipment firm Izasa, now known as Werfen. Due to disagreements, the two brothers went their separate ways in 2006. Today, Celsa, owned by the Rubiralta Rubió brothers, has fallen into the hands of creditor funds, while Werfen, owned by the Rubiralta Giralt brothers, has become a giant in the sector with sales exceeding €2 billion. The mother of the four brothers, Maria Teresa Giralt, a descendant of a textile family, chairs the social foundation Nous Cims, in which her children also participate.

ANTONIO GALLARDO BALLART (ALMIRALL)

Antonio Gallardo, along with his brother Jorge, are the main shareholders of the pharmaceutical company Almirall, which they inherited from their father, Antonio Gallardo Carrera. His fortune is estimated at 1.1 billion euros. Today, Carlos Gallardo Piqué, Jorge's son, is the CEO of the pharmaceutical company, which merged in 1997 with Prodesfarma, founded by Antoni Vila Casas. One of Antonio's daughters is Susana Gallardo Torrededia, who separated from Alberto Palatchi, the former owner of Pronovias, and is now married to Manuel Valls, former French Prime Minister and former Barcelona City Councillor. The Gallardo family controls the Vithas hospital group through the company Goodgrower; the Sercotel hotel chain through the company Landon; and the venture capital firm Healthgrower, among others.