Dieter Schwarz

Dieter Schwarz (born 24 September 1939) is a German billionaire businessman, and owner of the Schwarz-Gruppe. He is the former chairman and CEO of the supermarket chain Lidl, and the hypermarket chain Kaufland.

Dieter Schwarz
Born (1939-09-24) 24 September 1939
Heilbronn, Germany
NationalityGerman
OccupationBusinessman
Net worthUS$59.3 billion (January 2021)[1]
TitleFormer chairman and CEO of Lidl and Kaufland
Term1977-2004
SuccessorKlaus Gehrig
Spouse(s)
Franziska Weipert
​
(m. 1963)​
Children2 daughters

Career

In 1973, Dieter Schwarz joined the "Lidl & Schwarz KG" business of his father Josef Schwarz and opened the company's first discount supermarket, inspired by the brothers Albrecht.[2] After his father died in 1977, he took control of the discount chain. He became CEO and expanded the business outside of Germany.[3] Soon afterwards, Schwarz bought the naming rights for Lidl from an unrelated person named Ludwig Lidl, a former schoolteacher, in order to side-step a legal battle with the co-owner A. Lidl.[4]

Net worth

In 2009, he was estimated to be worth 10 billion euro.[5] As of October 2012, he was estimated to be worth 12 billion euro, an increase from 11.5 billion euro in 2011.[6] In 2013, he was estimated be worth €19.6 billion, and ranked the 24th richest person in the world.[4] As of February 2014, he was ranked as 23rd richest person in the world in the Hurun Report Global Rich List.[7]

In July 2020, Forbes listed Schwarz as the 30th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$34.8 billion.[1]

Since 1999, Schwarz manages his resources through the tax-exempt Dieter Schwarz Foundation (gGmbH, limited liability company with a charitable purpose), when he transferred his shares in Lidl and Kaufland into it, deciding just how much of his profits go into the foundation.[8] The Dieter Schwarz Foundation supports education and daycare facilities for children, for example, as well as science and research projects.[1]

Personal life

In 1963, Schwarz married Franziska Weipert. They live in Heilbronn and have two daughters.[9] Schwarz is known to be very protective of his privacy.[4]

References
  1. "Forbes profile: Dieter Schwarz". forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. News.de-Redaktion (26 September 2018). "Lidl-Gründer Dieter Schwarz privat: SO leben der wohl reichste Deutsche und seine Familie". Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. "These are the 50 richest people in the world right now". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. Oltermann, Philip (23 June 2014). "Germany's Lidl seen overtaking big rivals Tesco, Carrefour and Aldi". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  5. "Aldi-Brüder sind immer noch die reichsten Deutschen" [Aldi brothers are still the richest Germans] (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. "Aldi-Clan dominiert Deutschlands Milliardäre" [Aldi family dominates German billionaires] (in German). Spiegel Online. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  7. "Hurun Report Global Rich List 2014". Hurun Report. February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  8. de Jong, David. "German Billionaire Schwarz Seen Having Tax-Exempt Fortune". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  9. "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Dieter Schwarz". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
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