Hasso Plattner Net Worth

Hasso Plattner has an estimated net worth of $14.4 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Hasso Plattner profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $13.5 billion in 2019.

Hasso Plattner is a German businessman best known as a cofounder of SAP. In 1972, he and 4 colleagues left IBM to start the enterprise software company. SAP later went public in 1988. Plattner was co-chief executive from 1998 and stepped down in 2003. He then served as chairman of SAP's supervisory board from 2003 to 2024, staying closely involved in the company’s direction and governance.

Most of Plattner’s wealth is tied to software through SAP, the company he helped build over decades. Forbes put his net worth at $14.4 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. Outside SAP, he also founded the nonprofit Hasso Plattner Institute in 1998, backed Design Thinking schools at the University of Potsdam, Stanford University and the University of Cape Town, and became majority owner of the San Jose Sharks in the U.S.

How Hasso Plattner built his fortune

Plattner made his money in software. The key step came in 1972, when he and 4 colleagues left IBM to launch SAP in Germany. SAP grew into a major enterprise software company and went public in 1988. Plattner later served as co-chief executive from 1998 until 2003. After that, he remained a central figure at the company as chairman of the supervisory board from 2003 to 2024.

His career also includes projects beyond SAP, though his fortune is still rooted in software. In 1998, he started the nonprofit Hasso Plattner Institute, which focuses on research and teaching in IT systems engineering, with degree programs and free online courses. He also set up Hasso Plattner Ventures in 2005. In the U.S., he is the majority owner of the San Jose Sharks. He also funded the Museum Barberini, which opened in 2017.

Forbes net worth and money picture

Forbes has tracked Plattner’s wealth through several market cycles. Its estimates moved from $13.5 billion in 2019 to $12.4 billion in 2020, then to $8.3 billion in 2021 and $7.9 billion in 2022. The numbers rose again to $8.6 billion in 2023 and $12.1 billion in 2024. Because his wealth comes from software and SAP, changes in the value of that business have an outsized effect on the Forbes estimate.

The rebound continued after 2024. Forbes valued him at $15.2 billion in 2025, then $13.8 billion on its 2026 World's Billionaires list. Forbes currently shows $14.4 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. That pattern fits a founder whose wealth is linked mainly to a long-held stake in a public technology company, with day-to-day and year-to-year changes shaping the estimate.