Dieter Schwarz, the renowned German entrepreneur, is the owner of the Schwarz- Gruppe. He also works as the CEO and chairman of the hypermarket chain Kaufland and the supermarket chain Lidl. By the time of February 2014, he is positioned as twenty third richest people in the globe according to the Hurun Report Global Rich List. Schwarz is also considered as the richest man in Germany.
Early Life and Family
Parents
Dieter Schwarz was born on 24th September, 1939, to Josef Schwarz, a businessman who founded the company, the Schwarz & Lidl discount chain. His father passed away in the year 1977, leaving behind all the responsibilities of the business.
Relationship and Personal Life
Dieter Schwarz resides in Heilbronn, with his wife named Franziska and two children. Since he is very protective about his personal life and privacy, there is not enough information or photographs of his personal life.
Career Highlights
After the sudden death of his father, Dieter Schwarz took over the naming rights from the co-owner Ludwig Lidl and he handled all the responsibilities of the Schwarz Group.
That time, the retail marketing sector of Germany was slowly moving forward. Schwarz, with the help of his knack of learning and reading, found out the best deals which could fuel the growth of his company. He created the entire empire on his own by a lot of hard work and dedication. Eventually he got the ownership off the Kaufland chain of hypermarkets.
After making it possible to run the business very successfully, he decided to sell the shares of Lidl to a charitable foundation. This sudden decision led him to drop out of the list of the richest men in Germany.
However, he took full control over the shares of the Dieter Schwarz foundation by converting it into a charitable purpose and not a foundation.
Being a very charitable and kind hearted person, Dieter Schwarz has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to charity along with setting up his own graduate school for law and business. It is estimated that this reputed entrepreneur has an estimated net worth of 16.4 billion USD.