The Van der Vorms family are due to receive a massive injection of cash from the sale of eyewear retailer GrandVision to the makers of Ray-Ban, EssilorLuxottica SA.
The family controls the Hal Trust, which sold the chain, which is also a publicly-traded entity.
“I’m very curious what Hal will do with the billions,” ABN Amro Bank NV’s Thijs Berkelder said. “Nobody from outside knows.” The family could return cash to shareholders, invest it or even close the fund and become full-time philanthropists, the Amsterdam-based analyst told www.fa-mag.com.
The family is worth about $11.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Martijn Van der Vorm, 61, the trust’s executive chairman until five years ago, lives in Monaco and prefers solo sailing to public appearances, according to Bloomberg.
The family’s fortune stems from the sale of Holland Amerika Line to Carnival in the 1980s for about $600 million.
