Jan van der Horst, the 83-year-old founder of Dutch hospitality wholesaler Hanos, sits at No. 104 on the Quote 500 rich list with an estimated fortune of €540 million, up 13.7 percent in the latest edition — and his company has asked its own minimum-wage employees to help pay for his birthday present, bnnvara reported. Management sent staff an email containing a QR code for a contribution to the Van der Horst family, De Telegraaf reported.
The request lands hard at a company with roughly 4,000 employees, many of whom earn the minimum wage, according to De Telegraaf. The same outlet noted the contrast with the company’s recent 50th-anniversary celebration, which included a trip to the Efteling theme park.
A QR code for the Van der Horst family
One employee, who has a side job at Hanos and earns the minimum wage, complained on TikTok, De Telegraaf reported. “The company apparently turned 50 and we went to the Efteling. Great fun, of course. But now they’ve sent an email with a QR code for a contribution to the Van der Horst family,” she said.
On TikTok she also linked the request to pay: “You have a right to privacy, but not when you pay the people who work hard for you to make you so rich so little.”
€540 million fortune, one lawyer’s letter
Van der Horst has been a fixture in the Quote 500 for years, but he has not enjoyed the attention. Years ago he tried to have his name removed from the list, sending a lawyer’s letter that read: “I request that you immediately stop digging into the private life of Mr. Van der Horst,” quotenet.nl reported, citing a fax from law firm Houthoff Buruma at the time.
De Telegraaf suggested the fact that many Hanos employees earn the minimum wage may help explain their boss’s aversion to the rich list.
Union calls the collection a disgrace
Trade union FNV also condemned the pass-the-hat approach to the birthday gift. “If you have such a fortune, it’s a disgrace to ask this of people who are low-paid. Ask for a symbolic gesture, but don’t put them out of pocket,” the union told De Telegraaf.
With Van der Horst’s wealth rising 13.7 percent to €540 million in the fresh Quote 500, a festive edition of the list is unlikely to end up in the Christmas packages of Hanos staff, quotenet.nl noted.
Questions readers are asking about the Hanos gift request
How much is Jan van der Horst worth? The latest Quote 500 estimates his fortune at €540 million, placing him at No. 104 on the list, with his wealth up 13.7 percent, quotenet.nl reported.
Why does Van der Horst dislike the Quote 500? He once sent a lawyer’s letter demanding the magazine stop “digging into the private life of Mr. Van der Horst,” according to a fax from Houthoff Buruma cited by quotenet.nl.
What has Hanos recently celebrated? The company marked its 50th anniversary with a trip to the Efteling for staff, De Telegraaf reported — days before the gift-collection email went out.
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