The biggest fortunes on the stock market grow by €2.5 billion in 2025

The Lisbon Stock Exchange’s main index closed last year with its biggest rise since 2009, a performance that was reflected positively in the wealth of the stock market’s biggest fortunes, which grew by more than €2.5 billion. In a year of gains for most stocks, the Azevedo family saw the value of their assets grow, while the Amorim family suffered from the devaluation of Galp and Corticeira Amorim shares.

The PSI benchmark index closed 2025 with a gain of 29.58%. This is the most significant rise since 2009, when it climbed 33.47% after the subprime crisis, and one of the best performances in Europe. In a year in which almost everyone won in Lisbon – only four listed companies ended with a negative sign (Corticeira Amorim, Altri, Navigator and Galp) – the main driver of stock market gains was BCP, which shot up 92.86%, and Sonae, with a rise of 76.37%.

The owner of Continente, which closed the first nine months with record profits of €200 million, has won the confidence of investors and analysts with the strong performance of the group’s various business units, led by food retail. The strong performance of the Azevedo family’s holding company resulted in an increase in the value of its stake in the listed company to over €740.6 million, to which €62.8 million in dividends must be added.

In addition to the accumulated gains at Sonae, there are also capital gains at Nos, where Sonaecom holds a 37.37% stake. The 20.6% increase in the value of the operator’s shares yielded around €186 million, between dividends and the rise in share prices. All in all, the Azevedo family saw its assets increase by around €989 million last year, to €2.4 billion.

The Soares dos Santos family, which controls Jerónimo Martins, was another of the stock market fortunes that grew in 2025. The owner of Pingo Doce closed the year with an increase of close to 10%, which increased the value of the Soares dos Santos stake in the listed company by €639 million. Taking into account the €370.8 million in dividends from the previous financial year, the family’s assets grew by €847.8 million to €7.16 billion.

Another of the stock market ‘clans’ that became richer this year was the Motas. In the year that the family said goodbye to António Mota, shares climbed 70%, raising the value of the Mota family’s stake in the construction company to €608.6 million, €250.2 million more than at the end of 2024. Together with the dividends collected last year, the Mota family’s assets grew by €268.6 million to €608.6 million.

The Queiroz Pereira family, which controls Semapa, which in turn is Navigator’s largest shareholder, also saw the value of its fortune grow, largely thanks to Semapa’s appreciation (47.4%) after the company announced the sale of Secil. Between the approximately €42 million paid in dividends and share gains, the value of Filipa, Mafalda and Lua Queiroz Pereira’s assets grew by €488.3 million to €1.4 billion.

Angolan Isabel dos Santos, who holds a 26.075% stake in ZOPT in Nos, was worth an additional €145.7 million at the end of the year, taking into account stock market performance and dividends.

Manuel Champalimaud, one of the largest shareholders in CTT, with more than 14% of the postal company’s shares, increased the value of his position by €40 million to €146.7 million, a ‘gain’ to which €3.3 million in dividends must be added.

Losses at Galp and Corticeira Amorim put pressure on Amorim

In a year in which only four listed companies lost value, two of them — Galp Energia and Corticeira Amorim — belong to the Amorim universe, with a negative impact on the assets of one of the richest families on the stock exchange, led by Paula Amorim.

While the position in the oil company is controlled solely by the heirs of businessman Américo Amorim, the capital of the cork company led by António Rios de Amorim is in the hands of the heirs of António Ferreira de Amorim and the heirs of Américo Amorim: his wife Fernanda and his three daughters Paula, Marta and Luísa Amorim.

The position in Galp — the Amorim family controls 55% of Amorim Energia, which in turn holds 33.34% of the oil company’s capital — fell in value by €200.7 million to €2.22 billion in a year in which the company’s share price fell to €14.63, compared to €15.95 at the end of 2024. Corticeira Amorim, which led the PSI’s biggest decline with a 17.9% drop, pressured by the adverse global context, dictated a €136.7 million drop in the value of the Amorim family’s position in the cork company.

The impact of the ‘losses’ caused by the fall in share prices was mitigated by dividends of €124.7 million received. All in all, the Amorim clan’s assets fell by €212.8 million in 2025.

Ana Mendonça, João Borges de Oliveira and Paulo Fernandes, three of the businessmen who make up the core group of Altri and Ramada shareholders, after selling Greenvolt to the American company KKR in 2024, also saw the value of their assets fall last year due to the decline in the paper manufacturer’s shares, which closed the year with a 15.6% devaluation, despite Ramada’s 6.9% gain.

Businesswoman Ana Mendonça, through Promendo Investimentos, ‘lost’ €14.8 million in 2025, despite the dividends received from Altri and Ramada. The assets of João Borges de Oliveira (Caderno Azul) and Paulo Fernandes (Actium Capital) shrank by €13.4 million and €12.5 million, respectively.