Christian Hadjiminas was disgruntled with his military equipment company’s share price at the end of last year. The former Phibro-Salomon commodities trader is now happier — and richer.
European defense stocks are surging since Donald Trump told the continent in recent weeks that it can no longer rely on the U.S. to defend it. That’s added at least $10.7 billion to the fortunes of individuals and families behind some of the continent’s top defense businesses, data compiled by Bloomberg shows, as regional leaders scramble to boost military spending.
Theon International PLC, a maker of night-vision goggles founded by Hadjiminas, is one top beneficiary. The Cyprus-based company’s share price has surged more than 70% this year through Tuesday, catapulting Hadjiminas into the ranks of the world’s ultrarich with a fortune of about $1.4 billion.
“We are an overnight success that took 27 years to happen,” Hadjiminas, 64, also Theon’s CEO, said in a telephone interview from his native Greece. “Finally we feel recognized for the hard work we’ve been doing for so many years.” He declined to comment on his net worth.
Rapid gains at companies such as Theon come as the shockwaves from Trump’s comments ripple across Europe, with Germany in particular planning to loosen debt restrictions for defense spending. Trump has threatened not to help NATO allies if they don’t spend more on defense, while top adviser Elon Musk has even suggested exiting the post-World War security alliance established almost a century ago. Its members still largely rely on importing U.S. arms.
France’s Dassault dynasty is another beneficiary. Shares in family-controlled Dassault Aviation SA, which makes the Rafale fighter jet, and 3-D software designer and defense supplier Dassault Systemes SE have risen about 60% and 16%, respectively, since the start of the year, adding almost $10 billion to the clan’s combined fortune, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier this month urged European countries that have previously bought U.S. military hardware to source locally and said the plane maker is working to raise the pace of annual Rafale deliveries.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy’s Agnelli dynasty is gaining through a major stake in Iveco Group NV, a maker of vehicles including military trucks. The billionaire family behind car brands such as Fiat and Ferrari has added almost $325 million to its fortune this year after Iveco’s share price climbed 82% through Tuesday. That makes the Turin-based company the second-best performer on Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB Index this year after fellow military equipment-maker Leonardo S.p.A., which mostly counts institutional firms in its shareholder base.
Overall, the Dassault and Agnelli families now have combined fortunes of about $57 billion, more than 20% higher than at the end of last year, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index, which is also valuing Hadjiminas’ fortune for the first time.
Hadjiminas, a Columbia University and Wharton Business School graduate, founded Theon in Greece in 1997 after stints trading cocoa and sugar in London and New York at the firm produced from Phibro’s acquisition of Salomon Brothers the previous decade.
Trading exposed him to financial hedging strategies that ultimately opened his path to the defense sector, where he initially worked as a consultant on risk management. He named his own fledging defense business after a Greek mathematician and sought to carve a niche by taking a different design for a night-vision product compared to a dominant U.S. version at the time.
The company went public last year after a period of fast growth selling thermal-image and night-vision goggles to scores of countries including NATO members. It’s also expanded to Abu Dhabi, Singapore and the U.S. while retaining major production facilities in Greece, which has previously ranked as one of the European Union’s biggest importers of military products.
Theon employees also own a small part of a holding company for its founder’s stake, including up-and-coming staffers in their 20s, Hadjiminas said. That group collectively added more than $20 million in wealth this year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
Theon reported annual revenue of €352.4 million ($384 million) for its 2024 preliminary results last month, an increase of 61.1% from a year earlier.
Hadjiminas cut his stake in Theon’s initial public offering in Amsterdam during early 2024 and trimmed it further this month in an oversubscribed placement that earned him about €50 million. He’s still the majority shareholder with a holding of more than 70%.
His holding company went on a buying spree of the company’s shares between November and January after Theon slumped below its listing price of €10 per share. It closed at €22.5 on Tuesday, giving him returns of at least 90% from his share purchase program.
“We took the risk because we believed in the company,” he said. “We have a long way to go.”