Otto Beisheim

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

During World War II Beisheim served in the SS Division Leibstandarte. Beisheim was a SS-Sturmmann (corresponds private) in an artillery regiment of the Leibstandarte.

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. The WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, in Koblenz is named after him.

References

Category:German businesspeople
Category:German billionaires
Category:1924 births
Category:2013 deaths
Category:Suicides in Germany
Category:Waffen-SS personnel
Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:German philanthropists
Category:Metro Group people
Category:Businesspeople who committed suicide