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

Early life

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 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.[5]

Career

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.[7] The WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, in Vallendar is named after him.[8][9][10]

Death

on 18 February 2013 Beisheim committed suicide in his home in Rottach-Egern, Germany. The Bisheim Group issued a statement that Bisheim chose to take his own life after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

References
  1. Cruz, Julie (18 February 2013). "Metro's Billionaire Founder Otto Beisheim Dies, Aged 89". Bloomberg.
  2. "#249 Otto Beisheim". Forbes. 10 March 2010.
  3. Metro Gründer:Otto BEisheim ist tot Der Spiegel
  4. Seidel, Hagen (18 February 2013). "Otto Beisheim: Freitod eines Milliardärs, den kaum einer kannte". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. Hägler, Max (16 November 2005). "Beisheim darf Schulnamen doch kaufen". die tageszeitung (in German). p. 7.
  6. Scholtyseck, Joachim (2020). Otto Beisheim. Jugend, Soldatenzeit und Entwicklung zum Handelspionier (in German). Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh. ISBN 978-3-506-70429-0.
  7. Lesova, Polya (7 October 2009). "Otto Beisheim sells 5.2% stake in Metro AG". MarketWatch. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  8. "Schriftenreihe - WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management". www.whu.edu. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.


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