The Blocher family is a Swiss business and political family hailing from Leidringen in Baden-Württemberg. The arm of Christoph Blocher made a significant fortune in chemicals through EMS-Chemie, and associated firms. The fortune of the family is estimated at 15–16 billion Swiss Francs (approximately $17–18 billion in 2025).
History.
The progenitor of the Swiss Blocher family was Johann Georg Blocher (1811–1899), who hailed from Leidringen in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He received a pedagogical education at a teachers seminary in Beuggen near Rheinfelden which followed the principles of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. The seminary was financed by the local church and clergy often sent teachers to financially destitute regions who could not afford teachers for their people. He has pioneered education and led several educational institutions in the Bernese Alps, Zürcher Oberland and Baselland.
On 21 October 1861, the municipal council of Schattenhalb, voted for the naturalization of Johann Georg Blocher and his family. For the grant of citizenship, Blocher had to pay 900 Swiss Francs (roughly $25,000 in 2025), which was three years worth of salary of a teacher at the time.