Birkenstock heirs are now worth $3.4 billion after the 250-year-old shoemaker's high-profile IPO

Birkenstock’s seemingly ubiquitous $130 leather sandals have helped the German family behind the brand build one of the biggest footwear fortunes on the planet. With Birkenstock’s trading debut Wednesday in New York, brothers Alex and Christian Birkenstock are now worth $3.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, even after the shares slumped 13% in the worst opening for a New York listing of $1 billion or more in over two years. It’s a significant payoff for the German cobbler heirs’ bet to hand over majority control of the historic...