The Richest Men in Germany
by kalyani10
Germany is the fifth country in the world with the highest number of wealthy individuals. On the 2012 Forbes List of World’s billionaires1, there are 52 billionaires from Germany. Despite the Euro-crisis having its effect across the whole of the continent, the top 100 richest Germans have managed to increase their fortunes by 6.5 percent over the past 12 months2. Here is a brief account of the richest men in Germany and the source of their wealth.
- Karl Brecht
The richest man in Germany is Karl Albrecht with a net worth of $25.4 billion which also makes him the tenth richest billionaire in the world3. Brecht owes his fortunes to ownership and operation of the discount division the Aldi supermarket chain, Aldi Sud which now has some 4,500 stores, including 1,200 across 32 U.S. states. It opened its first New York City locations in 2011, one in Queens and another in the Bronx.
The immensely lucrative venture started out when Karl and his late brother Theo took on their mother's corner grocery store after World War II and turned it into a large retail chain based on low prices in a no-frills setting. In fact to keep costs low, Aldi stores still do not accept credit cards. The brothers split ownership in 1961 – while Karl took the more profitable stores in southern Germany, in addition to the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S., Theo got northern Germany and the rest of Europe. Even after Theo’s death in 2010, his sons continue to be billionaires, thanks to the vast Aldi Sud fortune.
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At the venerable age of 92, Karl Brecht lives in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany and keeps a low profile. Not much is known about his personal life apart from the fact that he has two children, neither of who is associated with Aldi.
- Berthold and Theo Jr. Albrecht
While none of Karl’s family remains in Aldi Sud, the family of Theo Albrecht presents a different picture. His two sons Berthold and Theo Jr. Took on the operation of the leading German discount supermarket chain Aldi Nord upon the death of their father, Theo Albrecht Sr. - an inheritance which has made them the second richest people in Germany with a net worth of $17.8 billion. The brothers also rank 32nd on Forbes 2012 List of world’s billionaires. After the division of Aldi between Karl and Theo, the latter got rights to the stores in northern Germany and all over Europe apart from UK. The result was the formation of Aldi Nord which was further expanded when in 1979, Theo Sr. Purchased U.S. discount gourmet retailer Trader Joe's, whose 367 stores attract cost-conscious customers. Berthold and Theo Jr. Are believed to be as secretive as their father, who became a recluse after being kidnapped for 17 days in 1971. Theo Jr. (61) has one child. Berthold (57) has 5 children. They both live in Germany and serve on the supervisory board of Aldi Nord.
- Michael Otto
The third richest man in Germany is Michael Otto with a net worth of $17.8 billion and figuring on the 34th position in Forbes list of 2012 World billionaires. Michael Otto and his four siblings share the ownership Otto Group, which sells everything from toys to building supplies and is estimated to have revenues of $11.4 billion. Michael was also responsible for moving the company into Internet sales; now it's the world's second biggest Internet retailer after Amazon.com.
The business was started by Werner Otto in 1949. Apart from wide ranging interests of the Otto Group, the family also owns 13 million square feet of prime real estate in the U.S., mostly in New York City. Michael retired as chief executive in 2007 after 26 years in that job but remains at the head of the group's supervisory board while Michael's brother Alexander manages Otto family's shopping center outfit, ECE Group.
Michael is married and father of two children. The 69 year-old billionaire lives in Hamburg, Germany. After retiring from active running of the Otto Group, Michael has developed interest in environmental causes and supports a foundation that funds preservation of Germany's Elbe river. He was awarded the 2010 Theodor Heuss Prize for his contributions to society. The same year he was awarded the UNESCO Children in Need Support-Award.
- Stefan Quandt
With a net worth of $11.2 billion, Stefan Quandt is not only among the top five richest Germans but also one of the youngest too at the age of 46. Apart from this Stefan also ranks 76th on the Forbes List of World billionaires of 2012. The source of Stefan’s fortune is BMW, one of the most expensive auto companies in the world. As son of the late Herbert Quandt the founder of BMW, Stefan Quandt owns a 17.4% stake in German auto company. Quandt sits on the company's supervisory board along with sister Susanne Klatten, who is also a billionaire with a net worth of and is Germany’s richest person right after her brother. Apart from his shares in BMW, Quandt owns and manages Delton AG a pharmaceutical company with about $2 billion in sales, besides having a stake in Data Card, a smart card maker.
An engineer by training, Stefan is married to Katherine a software engineer and is father of one child. He lives in Frankfurt, Germany. Though he has been sighted watching football matches, Stefan like the rest of his family otherwise keeps a low profile.
- Klaus Michael Kuhne
Kuhne owes his position of one of Germany’s wealthiest men to Kuehne & Nagel AG, the transportation and logistics company that he has run for over four decades. He owns 53% of the publicly traded company, which was founded in 1890 by his grandfather August Kuhne. Klaus’s interests in shipping was further underlined when in 2008, in an effort to keep shipping company Hapag Lloyd anchored in Germany, he and a group of investors that included the city of Hamburg formed the Albert Ballin KG consortium to bid for 160-year old Hapag Lloyd, one of the world's leading container ship operators – all investments which have earned him a net worth of $9.8 billion and 95th ranking among the world’s billionaires as of March 2012.
Though Kuhne continues to retain his German citizenship, he now resides in Switzerland where he has built an extravagant house said to look like the main command deck of an ocean liner.
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