It is also relevant that a good chunk of the ultra-rich in Germany came to prominence with govt assistance (that varies from slave labour to heavily subsidised

It is also relevant that a good chunk of the ultra-rich in Germany came to prominence with govt assistance (that varies from slave labour to heavily subsidised loans). Aldi is a pretty poor example because they are an example of a company that actively disrupted German corporate life. So being understated is a north European characteristic but that isn't why German billionaires behave that way (they are often extremely overstated in private). They have no public profile because the way they made their money is usually horrific (Oetker family, Quandts, etc.), there are always vague suggestions of corruption, and they are very rich but aren't capitalists...it is crazy. Also, the amount of corruption in Germany is huge. The most similar country is probably China. The state is run by and for billionaires. There is almost no oversight of this. The purpose of the German economy is to steal from consumers: low wages, forced savings, essentially free loans from state-owned banks to well connected companies, very weak unions. Not as bad as China, stuff like hukou is...fedualistic, but unlike almost any other developed economy.