Dieter Schwarz
{{Short description|German businessman and former CEO of Lidl}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dieter Schwarz
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1939|09|24}}
| birth_place = Heilbronn, Germany
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education =
| occupation = Businessman
| years_active =
| title = Former chairman and CEO of Lidl and Kaufland
| term = 1977-2004
| predecessor =
| successor = Klaus Gehrig
| spouse = {{marriage|Franziska Weipert|1963}}
| children = 2 daughters
}}
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.
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 Karl and Theo Albrecht.{{Cite news |url=https://www.news.de/wirtschaft/855666105/dieter-schwarz-lidl-chef-und-milliardaer-besitzt-enormes-vermoegen-unternehmer-familie-mit-frau-franziska-zwei-kinder-tochter-monika/1/ |title=Lidl-Gründer Dieter Schwarz privat: SO leben der wohl reichste Deutsche und seine Familie |last=News.de-Redaktion |date=2018-09-26 |access-date=2020-01-13}} After his father died in 1977, he took control of the discount chain. He became CEO and expanded the business outside of Germany.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/richest-people-world-billionaires-list-2017-11?r=UK&IR=T#31-dieter-schwarz-19|title=These are the 50 richest people in the world right now|work=Business Insider|access-date=14 January 2019}}
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.{{cite news| last1=Oltermann| first1=Philip|title=Germany's Lidl seen overtaking big rivals Tesco, Carrefour and Aldi| url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/23/lidl-germany-overtake-tesco-carrefour-aldi|access-date=23 June 2014|work=The Guardian|date=23 June 2014}}{{failed verification|date=November 2019}}
Net worth
In 2009, he was estimated to be worth 10 billion euro.{{cite web| url=https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/milliardaere100.html| title=Aldi-Brüder sind immer noch di iin Deutschen|trans-title=Aldi brothers are still the richest Germans| date = 2009-10-06| publisher =Norddeutscher Rundfunk| language =German| access-date =2010-09-12}} As of October 2012, he was estimated to be worth 12 billion euro, an increase from 11.5 billion euro in 2011.{{cite web| url=http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/reichenliste-des-manager-magazin-aldi-clan-dominiert-liste-a-860258.html| title =Aldi-Clan dominiert Deutschlands Milliardäre|trans-title=Aldi family dominates German billionaires | date =2012-10-09| publisher = Spiegel Online| language = German| access-date = 2012-10-09}} In 2013, he was estimated be worth €19.6 billion, and ranked the 24th richest person in the world. As of February 2014, he was ranked as 23rd richest person in the world in the Hurun Report Global Rich List.{{cite web|url=http://hurun.net/EN/HuList.aspx?nid=26|title=Hurun Report Global Rich List 2014|access-date=21 August 2014|work=Hurun Report|date=February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808232251/http://hurun.net/EN/HuList.aspx?nid=26|archive-date=8 August 2014}}
In 2023, Forbes listed Schwarz as the wealthiest man in Germany and the 25th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$47.2 billion.{{Cite web |title=Dieter Schwarz |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/dieter-schwarz/ |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Forbes |language=en}} 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.{{cite news|last1=de Jong|first1=David|title=German Billionaire Schwarz Seen Having Tax-Exempt Fortune|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-23/german-billionaire-schwarz-seen-having-tax-exempt-fortune.html|website=Bloomberg|date=23 October 2012 |access-date=23 June 2014}} The Dieter Schwarz Foundation supports education and daycare facilities for children, for example, as well as science and research projects.{{cite web|title=Forbes profile: Dieter Schwarz |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/dieter-schwarz/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306143752/http://www.forbes.com/profile/dieter-schwarz/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2013 |work=Forbes |access-date=19 June 2021}}
As per Forbes list of The Richest People In The World, dated 8 March 2024, Dieter Schwarz is ranked #37 with a net worth of $38 Billion.{{Cite web |title=The Richest People In The World |url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/}}
Personal life
In 1963, Schwarz married Franziska Weipert. They live in Heilbronn and have two daughters, Regine and Monika.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Dieter Schwarz|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/dieter-schwarz/|url-access=subscription|access-date=18 January 2019|website=Bloomberg LP}} He was strongly influenced by his membership in the Protestant free church community.{{Cite web |title=Dieter Schwarz |url=http://www.wiwo.de/koepfe-der-wirtschaft/dieter-schwarz/5287464.html#selection-873.0-873.85 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130212143529/http://www.wiwo.de/koepfe-der-wirtschaft/dieter-schwarz/5287464.html#selection-873.0-873.85 |archive-date=2013-02-12 |access-date=2023-11-17}} Schwarz is known to be very protective of his privacy, to an extent that no media recordings of Schwarz exist, and he refuses any kind of interview. Meanwhile, just three photos of him are known to exist in the press or in the image search of Google.Karsten Langer: [http://www.manager-magazin.de/koepfe/unternehmerarchiv/0,2828,288662,00.html Dieter Schwarz: Aldis Erzfeind.] In: Manager Magazin. 2 March 2004, retrieved on 1 March 2021.Charlotte Theile: [https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/dieter-schwarz-der-neuereichste-deutsche-1.2057915 Der neue reichste Deutsche.] In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 23 July 2014, retrieved on 1 March 2021.[https://www.businessinsider.de/so-geheimnisvoll-lebt-der-lidl-gruender-und-reichste-deutsche-2017-8 „Wie bei einem Drogendealer“: So geheimnisvoll lebt der Lidl-Gründer und einer der reichsten Deutschen.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125355/https://www.businessinsider.de/so-geheimnisvoll-lebt-der-lidl-gruender-und-reichste-deutsche-2017-8 |date=27 August 2017 }} In: Business Insider Germany, 25 August 2017, retrieved on 1 March 2021.[https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/wirtschaft-lidl-discounter-1.4451083?reduced=true News article with photo of Schwartz], 1 March 2021.
References
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Category:Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg
Category:People from Heilbronn
Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
Category:German chief executives
Category:German businesspeople in retailing