The family of businessman Igor Lah has climbed to the top of the latest ranking of the 100 wealthiest Slovenians compiled by the Finance Manager magazine. The family's wealth is estimated at €385 million.

The assets of the financial investor Lah and his family increased by 45% compared to last year, or by €119 million in what is the largest leap in nominal terms in the ranking.

Lah's assets have quadrupled in the last four years, mostly because of the surge in the value of the glassworks Steklarna Hrastnik, which plans to make €22 million in net profit this year and is valued by Finance Manager at almost a quarter of a billion euros.

The family owns large buildings in Ljubljana under the umbrella of the Ceeref fund, and their businesses also hold shares in state-owned electricity distribution companies.

Ex-Outfit7 owners drop to 2nd

Having topped the list since 2014, Iza Sia Login and Samo Login, the former owners of mobile app developer Outfit7, are now tied in second place, each with an estimated worth of €345 million, flat with last year.

The two would have been still at the top if the magazine had not split their wealth in two after they had split as partners in their private life.

The majority of their wealth comes from the sale of the game developer Outfit7 and the dividends they paid themselves from the company while they still owned it, the magazine notes.

Ranked fourth is Boštjan Bandelj, the owner of the emission coupon dealer Belektron (€276 million; -6%), followed in fifth by the Šešok family, which owns the Iskra group (€270 million; -10%).

The top ten is rounded off by Vesna and Dari Južna (€268 million; +18%), Jure Knez (€243 million; +59%), Damian Merlak (€236 million; +11%), Joc Pečečnik (€218 million; no change), Igor Akrapovič (€213 million; +20%) and Ivo and Anastasia Taja Boscarol (€213 million; +10%).

Record-high combined wealth of top 100

Since last year the top 100 have increased their combined wealth by 8% to a record €8.7 billion, but the growth was more modest than in the previous two years.

The magazine says the main reason for their assets not keeping up with inflation is the rising costs of the companies they own.

The threshold for the top 100 ranking has increased from €33.3 million last year to €35.2 million, and there are four newcomers and six people who have returned to the list this year.

Goalkeeper Oblak new on the list

The most prominent newcomer is the captain of the national football team, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak. With an estimated worth of €38.9 million, he joined NBA players Luka Dončić and Goran Dragić and NHL player Anže Kopitar among the richest Slovenian athletes.

The magazine notes that the greatest leap in terms of percentage was made by Bogdan Kronovšek and Nataša Besednjak (€72.6 million; +83%), the owners of the heat pump manufacturer Kronoterm.

Also benefiting from a spike in demand for heat pumps was the company Firšt, owned by Franc and Elizabeta Firšt, which specialises in valves and heating regulators. They are newcomers on the list with an estimated worth of €36.9 million.

Finance Manager also singled out Jure Knez, the largest owner and co-founder of the high-tech manufacturer Dewesoft, who increased his assets six-fold in the last four years to €243 millions, to make it among the top ten for the first time.