Günther Fielmann
{{Short description|German billionaire businessman (1939–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Günther Fielmann
| image = G Fielmann.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Fielmann in 2009
| birth_name = Günther Klaus Fielmann
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1939|9|17}}
| birth_place = Stafstedt, Germany
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2024|1|3|1939|9|17}}
| death_place = Lütjensee, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
| occupation = {{cslist|Businessman|optometrist}}
| known_for = Founder and CEO, Fielmann Group
| spouse = {{marriage|Heike Eggert
|1988|2000|reason=div}}
| children = 2, including Marc Fielmann
}}
Günther Klaus Fielmann{{Cite web |title=Guenther Klaus FIELMANN personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/PlsQdiC-sFdlf6kzFgsvpaQhPzM/appointments |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |language=en}} (17 September 1939 – 3 January 2024) was a German billionaire businessman, the founder, majority owner and the chief executive officer of Fielmann, a German optics company focusing on retail eyewear. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$4.6 billion.{{cite web|url = https://www.forbes.com/profile/fielmann-guenther/ |title = Forbes profile: Guenther Fielmann & family |accessdate = 21 August 2021 |work = Forbes}} From 2019, the management of Fielmann Group, was handed over completely to his son Marc Fielmann.{{Cite web |last=Staff |title=Germany's Fielmann to Transfer Stock as Part of Succession Plan |url=https://www.2020mag.com/article/germanys-fielmann-to-transfer-stock-as-part-of-succession-plan |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=www.2020mag.com}}
Early life
Günther Klaus Fielmann was born 17 September 1939, the second child of Dr. Wilhelm and Marie-Louise Fielmann. His father was a school principal. Initially, Fielmann wanted to become a photographer, but his father insisted and told him to start an apprenticeship as optometrist, which he did in 1956.J. Ritter, Günther Fielmann – Kämpfer gegen die Sozialprothese. In: FAZ, 26./27. September 2009, C3 (in German) In 1965, he became a diplomed optometrist and optometrist master.
Career
1972 the state-approved optometrist opened his first shop in Cuxhaven. In 1981 he revolutionised the German spectacle market by offering 90 fashionable frames for the allowance of the statutory health insurance funds (initial tariff). Because previously only 6 models were available in exchange for the insurance allowance, Fielmann thus removed the social stigma of having to wear glasses. This liberalisation, favourable media coverage ("Robin Hood of spectacle wearers"{{cite web| url = http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/guenther-fielmann-wird-der-koenig-der-bebrillten-1.46779| title = Günther Fielmann wird König der Bebrillten| accessdate = 4 August 2011| date = 16 September 2009| work = Süddeutsche Zeitung| language = de}}) and aggressive marketing allowed his business to grow rapidly. In 1982 a new shop was opened in Kiel offering more than 7,000 frames to choose from. In 1994 the Fielmann KG was transformed into Fielmann AG and went public.
In 2002, Fielmann bought Plön Castle from the state of Schleswig-Holstein and had it renovated extensively. Since 2003 he trained his optometrists in the castle. From 2005–06 onwards bachelor's and master's degrees in optometry are being offered in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Lübeck.
Personal life
In 1988, Fielmann married Heike Fielmann (née Eggert; born 1968), who was a little less than thirty years his junior and whom he divorced in 2000.{{cite web| url = https://www.faz.net/s/Rub2309A3DB4F3C4474B93AA8610A24AE0A/Doc~EE97054101505487B91CEB0CDB9966976~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html| title = Günther Fielmann: Kämpfer gegen die Sozialprothese| accessdate = 4 August 2011| date = 28 September 2009| work = F.A.Z.net| language = de}}{{Cite web |last=Hamburg |first=Hamburger Abendblatt- |date=5 December 2000 |title=Fielmanns Frau zog aus |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/archiv/2000/article204389259/Fielmanns-Frau-zog-aus.html |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de-DE}} He has two children from this marriage;
- Marc Fielmann (born 1989), who is the CEO of Fielmann
- Sophie-Louise Fielmann (born 1994)
Günther Fielmann died in Lütjensee on 4 January 2024, at the age of 84.{{cite news |title=Günther Fielmann mit 84 Jahren gestorben |url=https://de.marketscreener.com/kurs/aktie/FIELMANN-GROUP-AG-436069/news/Gunther-Fielmann-mit-84-Jahren-gestorben-45679342/ |access-date=5 January 2024 |publisher=Market Screener |date=5 January 2024}}
Other activities
For each of his employees Fielmann planted a tree every year. In May 2009 he planted the one-millionth tree with chancellor Angela Merkel and minister president Peter Harry Carstensen.[http://www.abendblatt.de/region/article1023127/Angela-Merkels-Stippvisite-beim-Brillenkoenig.html Angela Merkels Stippvisite beim Brillenkönig] 20. Mai 2009
Fielmann was also a passionate organic farmer. He owned the 1,600 hectares manor Schierensee, the 470 hectares manor Marutendorf in Achterwehr, the 180 hectares farm Möglin in Krummwisch and a farm in Lütjensee. The organic products of his farms he sold under the brand Hof Lütjensee.
Awards
In 2000 Fielmann received the Federal Cross of Merit First Class from the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Two years later (2002) the state also bestowed the title of a professor (honoris causis) upon him. In 2003 he received the "Deutscher Gründerpreis" (Prize for German Founders). The agricultural and nutrition sciences department of the University of Kiel awarded him an honorary doctorate in December 2004. In 2011 Fielmann was accepted into the Hall of Fame of manager magazin.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929173107/http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20110726/bloomberg-markets-hidden-billionaires/slides/2 Bloomberg Businessweek (2011) "Hidden Billionaires: Günther Fielmann"]
- [http://vimeo.com/8907596 NDR-Portrait (2009) "Günther Fielmann - Der Weitblicker"] (German video)
References
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Category:People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde
Category:People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein
Category:German businesspeople in retailing
Category:German chief executives
Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:German company founders