Ernesto Bertarelli Net Worth - Pulptastic
Olivia Shea
Published Apr 10, 2026
Ernesto Bertarelli: Richest Person in Switzerland with a Net Worth of $15 Billion
Ernesto Bertarelli, born in Rome and raised in Switzerland, graduated from Babson College and Harvard Business School. He became CEO of Serono in 1996 and co-owner in 1998, after his father passed away. Along with his sister, he changed the company’s focus to biotechnology, resulting in increased profits from $809 million to $2.8 billion in ten years. Serono merged with Merck KgaA in 2007 to become Merck-Serono.
Bertarelli also manages investments through Kedge Capital Group and Northill Capital, and helms Ares Life Sciences. He founded Team Alinghi in 2000 and is active in competitive sailing. He is married to former Miss UK Kirsty Roper.
Bertarelli’s net worth of $15 billion comes mainly from the 65 percent stake he holds in Serono, which was sold to Merck for $8.6 billion in 2006. He also owns 50 percent of Serono’s Geneva headquarters and has earned over $1 billion from selling almost two million shares of Serono in its IPO, along with his mother and sister.
