The Rotterdam billionaire family Van der Vorm was the founder of the eyewear brand Pearle (since sold) and also online retailer Coolblue. — © Marc Herremans – Mediahuis
The Rotterdam billionaire family Van der Vorm wants to pay off the debts of a thousand families every year. Anyone can register for it.
In the Netherlands, one in twelve children grows up in poverty, in Rotterdam this is one in five. About 15,000 families find it difficult to make ends meet. Debts are mounting. The Van der Vorm family – the second richest family in the Netherlands – wants to do something about this. Like wild benefactors, they will pay off the debts of a thousand families every year for the next three years.
The families do not have to pay anything back. The gift is intended for families with at least one child who have had a setback in the past seven years. Anyone can register for it. The average cost to pay off all debts for one family is approximately 2,700 euros. Calculate an amount of more than 8 million euros.
It is not the first time that the family has stepped into the breach. She previously made 15 million euros available to compensate the energy bills of Rotterdam’s less fortunate people. The paterfamilias Martijn Van der Vorm (65) lives in complete discretion in Monaco. From there he manages his investment fund HAL. Van der Vorm was one of the founders of the eyewear brand Pearle (now sold) and also online retailer Coolblue. His fortune is estimated at 8.5 billion euros. (cdh)
