Otto Beisheim
Otto Beisheim (3 January 1924 – 18 February 2013[1]) was a German businessman and founder of Metro AG. In 2010, his net worth was estimated at US$3.6 billion.[2]
Otto Beisheim | |
---|---|
Born | Germany | January 3, 1924
Died | February 18, 2013 89) Germany | (aged
Nationality | German |
Occupation | Businessman |
In October 1942, Otto Besheim voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS. During this time, he temporarily served as Sturmmann (Private) in the SS Division Leibstandarte[3] in an artillery regiment on the Eastern Front.[4][5] There is no historical indication that he was involved in war crimes during his assignment with the Waffen-SS.[6] In 1943, Beisheim incurred a light injury in July in the battle of Kursk in July 1943, and a severe injury in December near Berdičev. 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.[7]
After the war, Beisheim went into business. The first Metro Market, opened in November 1963 in Essen-Altenessen. 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 Koblenz is named after him.[9][10][11]
References
- Julie Cruz (18 February 2013). "Metro's Billionaire Founder Otto Beisheim Dies, Aged 89". Bloomberg.
- "#249 Otto Beisheim". Forbes. 10 March 2010.
- Metro Gründer:Otto BEisheim ist tot Der Spiegel
- Hagen Seidel (18 February 2013), "Otto Beisheim: Freitod eines Milliardärs, den kaum einer kannte", DIE WELT (in German), retrieved 16 July 2020
- taz: Beisheim darf Schulnamen doch kaufen, 16. November 2005
- Joachim Scholtyseck: Otto Beisheim. Jugend, Soldatenzeit und Entwicklung zum Handelspionier. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2020, ISBN 978-3-506-70429-0.
- Max Hägler: Beisheim darf Schulnamen doch kaufen, die tageszeitung, 16. November 2005
- Lesova, Polya. "Otto Beisheim sells 5.2% stake in Metro AG". MarketWatch. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- "Schriftenreihe - WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management". www.whu.edu. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.