Otto Beisheim

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Otto Beisheim
Born(1924-01-03)3 January 1924
Germany
Died18 February 2013(2013-02-18) (aged 89)
Germany
NationalityGerman
OccupationBusinessman

Otto Beisheim (3 January 1924 – 18 February 2013[1]) was a German businessman and co-founder of Metro AG. In 2010, his net worth was estimated at US$3.6 billion.[2]

Early life[edit]

Beisheim was born on January 3, 1924, near Essen, Germany. He was the son of a caretaker, and his family was too poor to pay for him to attend high school, so he became a leather tradesman.[3]

In October 1942, Otto Besheim voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS. During this time, he temporarily served as Sturmmann (Private) in the SS Division Leibstandarte[4] in an artillery regiment on the Eastern Front.[5][6] There is no historical indication that he was involved in war crimes during his assignment with the Waffen-SS.[7] In 1943, Beisheim incurred a light injury in July in the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, and a severe injury in December near Berdychiv. In July 1944, following an extensive period of recovery in various military hospitals, Beisheim served as a Private in an administrative unit before he was taken as a British prisoner of war in May 1945. He was released in March 1946.[6]

Career[edit]

After the war, Beisheim began his commercial career at the Wilhelm Nebel leather factory. After several positions in the iron and steel industry, he worked for the electrical trading company Stöcker & Reinshagen from 1959, where he became an authorized officer.[7]

Returning to Germany, he founded Metro, the country's first cash-and-carry retailer, in 1964 at Mülheim an der Ruhr.[3]

On 10 January 2004, Beisheim Center was officially opened on the northwest side of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, built for 463 million euros, and including the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott chains.

In 2009, he sold 5.2% of the shares of Metro AG to various national and international investors; a further 3.1% could be sold.[8] The WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, in Vallendar is named after him.[9][10][11]

Awards[edit]

Personal life and legacy[edit]

On 18 February 2013, Beisheim committed suicide in his home in Rottach-Egern, Germany. The Beisheim Group issued a statement that Beisheim chose to take his own life after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Beisheim was intensely private and rarely in the public eye. Even at his company's shareholders' meetings, he was reported to have shown up on occasion masquerading under the name Müller.[3]

Otto gave his name to the Beisheim Group, a family holding company for his interests in Metro AG.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cruz, Julie (18 February 2013). "Metro's Billionaire Founder Otto Beisheim Dies, Aged 89". Bloomberg L.P.
  2. ^ "#249 Otto Beisheim". Forbes. 10 March 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "Otto Beisheim, German Retailing Pioneer, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Metro Gründer:Otto BEisheim ist tot Der Spiegel
  5. ^ Seidel, Hagen (18 February 2013). "Otto Beisheim: Freitod eines Milliardärs, den kaum einer kannte". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b Hägler, Max (16 November 2005). "Beisheim darf Schulnamen doch kaufen". die tageszeitung (in German). p. 7.
  7. ^ a b Scholtyseck, Joachim (2020). Otto Beisheim. Jugend, Soldatenzeit und Entwicklung zum Handelspionier (in German). Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh. ISBN 978-3-506-70429-0.
  8. ^ Lesova, Polya (7 October 2009). "Otto Beisheim sells 5.2% stake in Metro AG". MarketWatch. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Schriftenreihe – WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management". whu.edu. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Top Universities". Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Business school rankings from the Financial Times – FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  12. ^ Ehrenpromovenden der TH/TU Dresden. In alphabetischer Ordnung TU Dresden, retrieved 21 June 2020.
  13. ^ Stephan Burgdorff: Viel Glück, wenig Skrupel, Spiegel special 5/1996, 1 May 1996.
  14. ^ Storbeck, Olaf (21 January 2020). "Metro's family shareholders lift stake as Kretinsky circles". Financial Times.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Joachim Scholtyseck: Otto Beisheim. Jugend, Soldatenzeit und Entwicklung zum Handelspionier. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2020, ISBN 978-3-506-70429-0.
  • Klaus Brockhoff: WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management. Aus der Nische zu internationaler Anerkennung 1984 - 2019. Schäffer-Poeschel, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 978-3-7910-4703-4.
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