ZDF documentary about the super-rich: “The rich are a discriminated minority”

A new documentary from ZDF wanted to discover how the richest of the rich live in Germany and how they became so rich. The nearly 45-minute video is full of quotes so unrealistic that your jaw will drop. We have therefore summarized for you what it is all about:

After reporter Jochen Breyer and his team initially received many rejections, they finally received their first positive response: Hans-Peter Wild invited them to fly from Salzburg to Paris on his private jet. Wild is the owner of the Capri Sun brand, which is headquartered here in Switzerland.

At the journalist’s request, he reveals his life motto. It says ‘Hard work and fun’. Because when you work hard, you should always have something to let go of. This includes this private jet, which Wild flew around the world three times a year until before the pandemic. When they arrive in central Paris, the billionaire welcomes them to his suite, which normally costs 17,000 euros per night – breakfast is not included.

The reporter wants to know what it’s like to have more money than you can ever spend. “I’ve never thought about that,” says Wild, shrugging his shoulders. It’s definitely good to have one because it makes you independent. All his money always went into the company, until one day he decided to make 150 million ‘cash’ within five years – and that’s what happened. Wilder ranks 77th in the annual ranking of the richest Germans by “Manager” magazine with an estimated fortune of 3.1 billion euros.

Thomas Bscher not only owns buildings in Berlin’s noble Kurfürstendamm district, but entire blocks of streets. Bscher comes from a family that has been swimming in money for generations. When asked about his legacy, Bscher makes it clear: “I had a good start in life, there is no doubt about that.” But he earned his wealth himself. And it is so big that he owns a villa in the affluent Marienburg district of Cologne specifically for its management, which he actually uses as an office.

When the reporter asks him how much the poorer 50 percent of Germans own, Bscher waves him away and asks what would happen if they owned twenty percent of the total assets instead of just 1.4. “You would have a little more security,” counters Jochen Breyer. Bscher then wonders whether the money would also be used by this part of the population to secure themselves financially. ‘I make things happen. When the money is distributed, it is spent and not invested. Germany is not a country of personal responsibility.”

The reporter’s voice-over sums it up: The billionaires legitimize their wealth to the rest of the people by saying they worked for it and paid high taxes. The documentary shows how German tax policy has increasingly evolved in favor of the super-rich since the mid-1990s: the wealth tax was abolished, the corporate tax and the top tax rate became smaller. With so many billionaires leaving the country for tax reasons, pressure is increasing on politicians to keep the wealthy taxpayers who remain in Germany.

Together with multi-millionaire Rainer Zietelmann, the camera team gains access to the ‘China Club’, a social club for the wealthy in Berlin. The man who appears on stage as a speaker wearing an “I love Capitalism” shirt not only lives the lifestyle, but also writes books on how to get rich. He believes that the rich are a discriminated minority and criticizes the fact that this “minority” is always “incited” in the media and politics. Many of his entrepreneur friends would therefore be thinking about emigrating. “They don’t feel welcome or valued enough,” Zietelmann regrets.

In Frankfurt, ZDF meets a top tax advisor who wishes to remain anonymous because otherwise he would jeopardize his reputation in the industry. He helps his wealthy clients reduce taxes through legal measures. The financial expert explains that more aggressive ways can be used to reduce taxes by finding holes and loopholes in the law. The experts in this industry charge an hourly rate of 400 to 900 euros.

There is an entire service area dedicated to tax avoidance. The large law firm Flick Gocke Schaumburg (FGS) is a well-known example of this. In the summer, ZDF attended an FGS seminar in a luxury hotel with a hidden camera. During the event, a lawyer giving a lecture advises people to ‘place apartments in a housing company’ or ‘set up a family foundation’. To the reporter’s surprise, ministerial official Gerda Hofmann is on stage. She is Germany’s top state official on inheritance, property and wealth taxes and warns the super-rich at the seminar that a tax loophole could soon be closed – but no one has to fear that, because she has a whole toolbox within reach. As the Federal Ministry of Finance has now informed the German daily TAZ, the legal consequences are currently being investigated.

Finally, Hans-Peter Wild delivers a memorable quote as he flies to his yacht in his private jet. When reporter Jochen Breyer asks him if he sometimes feels guilty about flying, he says: “What is the alternative? Should we have done it on foot, by train, by bicycle? What should we have done?” and shrugs.