Graf is the owner of Novomatic Group, Europe's largest gaming technology group. The Gumpoldskirchen, Austria-based company employs about 29,000 staff and has more than 260,000 slot-machines in operation. The closely held business builds its machines in 13 production facilities across 10 countries.
Johann Graf's net worth of $8.60B can buy ...
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The majority of Graf's fortune is derived from his ownership of Novomatic, Europe's largest gaming technology group, according to its 2016 annual report. The Gumpoldskirchen, Austria-based group had revenue of 4.4 billion euros ($4.9 billion) in 2016, according to the annual report. It has 13 production facilities, 260,000 slot machines and 29,000 staff, according to the same report. Graf owns all of Novomatic, according to the Orbis company database published by Bureau van Dijk.
Novomatic group comprises Novomatic AG, ACE Casino Holding and Gryphon Invest. It's valued as a whole using group revenue, Ebitda, and the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda and enterprise value-to-sales multiples of three peer companies: International Game Technology, Ainsworth Game Technology and Scientific Games. A 15 percent liquidity discount is added because Novomatic's Ebitda margin is less than the peer group average.
The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of taxes, dividends and market performance.
Graf was born into a family of meat butchers in 1947, and grew up with his grandparents in Perchtoldsorf, Austria. At age 23, he was named Austria's youngest-ever master butcher by the country’s meat industry, and left the family business to begin importing pinball machines from Belgium in 1974. He started Novomatic six years later, developing new types of slot machines by taking advantage of the gambling industry's transition to electronic gaming.
Working from the company's headquarters in the Austrian wine-producing village of Gumpoldskirchen, Graf expanded his gambling business throughout Western Europe over the course of the next three decades. He has built or developed about 20 casinos, 1,500 slot arcades and more than 450 casino, online and mobile gambling games.
The billionaire was picked as Austria’s "Man of the Year" by Trend magazine in 2008. He's divorced, a father of three children, and has a collection of about 125 vintage cars.