The 2019 ranking of the 50 richest Czechs and Slovaks compiled by the Euro weekly shows some significant changes. While Czech billionaire Petr Kellner remains top dog, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) has fallen two spots to be ranked as the fourth richest person in the country. He has been overtaken by oligarchs Radovan Vitek and Karel Komarek, the weekly informed on September 23.

Babis, who has held the number two spot for years, lost his position mainly due to the falling profitability of Agrofert and its growing indebtedness. As bne IntelliNews reported, the consolidated profit of the Agrofert Holding, formerly directly owned by the Czech PM, fell for the third consecutive year by 63.5% year-on-year in 2018. Czech analysts pointed to the drop in profits in chemicals and the food industry as the reason for the fall, particularly as regards activities of German bakery group Lieken.

While the wealth of Babis and another six listed people shrunk y/y, a majority of 36 oligarchs out of the 50 richest Czechs and Slovaks increased their wealth. Daniel Kretinsky, who ranked fifth behind Babis only by a narrow margin, recorded sharp growth in his net worth. Petr Marsa and Romuald Kopun, owner of Fio bank, improved their rankings the most.

According to the weekly, the top 50 businessmen currently control assets worth CZK1.32tn (€51bn), which is by CZK125bn (€4.8bn) more than in the 2018 ranking. Overall, the value of the top 50 increased by more than 10% over the past year. 

The only newcomer on the list is Martin Hajek. Hajek owns a Prague-based tech company focused on sport information and scores, which is highly profitable and has a global presence. However, given the lack of official figures, the Hajek net worth estimate of CZK8.5bn (€328mn) given by the weekly was based on very limited amount of data.

Ranking	Name	Wealth (CZK million)	Wealth (€ billion)
1	Petr Kellner	270	11.5
2	Radovan Vitek	89	3.8
3	Karel Komarek	80	3.4
4	Andrej Babis	71	3
5	Daniel Kretinsky	68	2.9
6	Patrik Tkac	55	2.3
7	Ivan Chrenko	39	1.7
8	Pavel Baudis	36.5	1.5
9	Pavel Tykac	30	1.3
10	Jiri Smejc	28	1.2
source: Tydenik Euro