Richard Oetker#kidnapping
{{Short description|German entrepreneur, victim of kidnapping}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Richard Oetker
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|01|04|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bielefeld, West Germany
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| education =
| occupation = Heir and businessman
| title = CEO, Dr. Oetker
| term = 2010–
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| children =
| parents = Rudolf August Oetker
Susanne Jantsch
| relations =
| family = Oetker family
| website =
}}
Richard Oetker (born 4 January 1951) is a German billionaire heir and businessman, who in 2010 became CEO of multinational food processing company Dr. Oetker. In 1976 he was kidnapped by Dieter Zlof, a Slovene-born mechanic, and only released after a substantial ransom was paid. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$2.7 billion.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-oetker/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307124439/http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-oetker/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 March 2014 |title=Forbes profile: Richard Oetker |website=forbes.com |accessdate=16 October 2021}}
Career
He was born in Bielefeld to Rudolf August Oetker (1916–2007) and Susanne Jantsch (1922–2012);{{cite web|url=http://trauer.rp-online.de/21759284-traueranzeige-susanne-prinzessin-zu-salm-horstmar|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140811192200/http://trauer.rp-online.de/21759284-traueranzeige-susanne-prinzessin-zu-salm-horstmar|url-status = dead|archive-date=11 August 2014|title=Traueranzeige Susanne Prinzessin zu Salm-Horstmar|author=|date=|website=rp-online.de|accessdate=23 August 2017}} his siblings are August Oetker the Younger, Bergit Countess Douglas, and Christian Oetker. He studied agronomy and brewing at the Technical University of Munich and has held various positions at Dr. Oetker since 1981, the year his father retired as CEO. He has been married twice and has two children.
Kidnapping
On 14 December 1976, the 25-year-old student was kidnapped by 34-year-old Dieter Zlof, a Slovene-born mechanic who locked him into a crate and linked his feet and wrists to manacles that would give him electric shocks if he screamed or tried to break out.{{cite news |last=Ritter/Steltzner|first=Johannes/Holger |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/richard-oetker-im-interview-die-entfuehrung-hat-mir-viel-kraft-gegeben-1611362.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2 |title=Richard Oetker im Interview: "Die Entführung hat mir viel Kraft gegeben" |date=11 March 2011 |newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |location=Frankfurt am Main}} While Oetker was {{convert|1.94|m|ftin}} tall, the crate was {{convert|1.45|m|ftin}} long and {{convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide.{{cite news |last=Lutz |first=Martin |url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article6878545/Ein-Preisschild-fuehrte-die-Polizei-zum-Taeter.html |title=Entführung von Richard Oetker: Ein Preisschild führte die Polizei zum Täter |date=22 March 2010 |newspaper=Die Welt |location=Berlin}} In the early hours of 15 December, a noise sparked off a near fatal shock that broke Oetker's thighs and two of his ribs as he thumped against the crate. His screams prolonged the shocks by ten seconds, and the pain was such that he briefly wanted to die.{{cite news |last=Maruhn |first=Matthias |url=https://www.derwesten.de/panorama/richard-oetker-spricht-ueber-seine-angst-als-geisel-id3447093.html |title=Richard Oetker spricht über seine Angst als Geisel |date=18 March 2010 |newspaper=Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung |location=Essen |access-date=10 September 2017 |archive-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806052121/http://www.derwesten.de/panorama/richard-oetker-spricht-ueber-seine-angst-als-geisel-id3447093.html |url-status=dead }}
He was freed for DM21 million, the highest ransom then paid in Germany. The abduction had lasted 47 hours by the time he was found in an Opel Commodore on 16 December. Zlof was arrested on 30 January 1979 on circumstantial evidence. Though he did not plead guilty, he received the maximum penalty – fifteen years in prison – on 9 June 1980.
In May 1997, Zlof, who had buried the ransom in a forest around {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Munich, went to England to swap mouldy banknotes worth DM12.5 million for usable money. The rest had mouldered away in its cache. He was re-arrested, served out a two-year sentence, and confessed to the kidnapping in a 1997 autobiography which was written by his barrister’s wife.
Oetker still suffers from the injuries he sustained in the crate. He spent four years on crutches, had several operations until 1994, and relearned to stand and walk. His lung had also been damaged as a result of his squatting inside the crate for hours on end.
''Dance with the Devil''
The 2001 film Dance with the Devil ({{langx|de|link=no|Der Tanz mit dem Teufel}}) revolves around Oetker's ransom. It stars Sebastian Koch as Richard Oetker, Tobias Moretti as investigator Helmut Bauer (who the script renames Georg Kufbach), and Christoph Waltz as Dieter Cilov.{{IMDb title |id=tt0299825 |title=Der Tanz mit dem Teufel – Die Entführung des Richard Oetker (2001)}} Zlof's name was altered for legal reasons.
See also
References
Further reading
- Nicole Amelung. Die Entführung (Lesani-Medienverlag, 1997). {{ISBN|3-9805045-5-7}}
- Rüdiger Jungbluth. Die Oetkers – Geschäft und Geheimnisse der bekanntesten Wirtschaftsdynastie Deutschlands (Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag, 2004). {{ISBN|3593373963}}.
External links
- {{IMDb name|2252796}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216225837/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=13448556&privcapId=4463185 Richard Oetker: Executive Profile & Biography – Businessweek]
- [http://www.betafilm.com/en/product/do/detail.html?id=1811 Dance With the Devil – betafilm.com]
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Category:20th-century German businesspeople
Category:21st-century German businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from Bielefeld
Category:Formerly missing German people
Category:People from the Province of Westphalia