Germany
Europe's largest and least visible family office market, built on Mittelstand industrial wealth, where a pending constitutional ruling on inheritance tax relief and a phased corporate tax cut are reshaping succession and structuring.

Family offices
500+ (est.)
Avg AUM
€400M (est.)
Regulatory body
Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
Tax environment
No wealth tax; inheritance tax relief for business assets is under constitutional review, and the corporate tax rate falls from 15% to 10% between 2028 and 2032.
Introduction
Germany has one of the largest single-family office populations in the world, rooted in the Mittelstand — the mid-sized, often family-owned industrial companies that account for more than half of economic output. German family offices are typically discreet, with many having no public presence at all, and range from the Quandt family's AQTON to hundreds of smaller offices in Munich, Hamburg and beyond.
Key Numbers
Evaluation
Business assets can currently qualify for 85% or 100% inheritance tax relief. A pending Federal Constitutional Court case (1 BvR 804/22) and proposals to replace the relief with a €5 million allowance make succession planning a live issue.
Resources Directory
Key Highlights
Europe's largest SFO market
Hundreds of single-family offices, concentrated in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin
Mittelstand access
Direct access to family-owned industrial companies facing generational succession
Falling corporate tax
The federal corporate tax rate falls step by step to 10% by 2032
No wealth tax
Germany does not levy a general wealth tax
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