From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of
German entrepreneurs , businesspeople of German nationality or with German citizenship.
A–M
Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founder of
Berlitz Language Schools
Carl Bertelsmann (1791-1850), founder of
Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include
Random House and
BMG
Johann Adam Birkenstock , in 1774 founded
Birkenstock shoe company
Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), in 1877, co-founder
Blohm+Voss , manufacturers of ships
Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), founder of
Borgward
August Borsig (1804–1854), founder of Borsig Werke
Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of
Robert Bosch GmbH
Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of
Hugo Boss AG
Max Braun (1883–1967), founder of
Braun GmbH , makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances
Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), co-founder of
Anheuser-Busch brewing company
Adolph Coors (1847–1929), founder of the
Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of
MillerCoors
Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor, engineer and industrialist; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now
Daimler AG
Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company
Adidas
Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of sportwear company
Puma
Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1899), co-founder of
Deutsche Bank
Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830–1916), founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of the chemical company
BASF
Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founder of
Faber-Castell , manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
Günther Fielmann (born 1939), founder of
Fielmann
Wilhelm von Finck (1848–1924), co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
Eduard Fresenius (1874–1946), founder of
Fresenius
Jakob Fugger the Elder (1368–1469), founder of
Fugger bank
Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), co-founder of
Goldman Sachs
Max Grundig (1908–1989), founder of
Grundig
Franz Haniel (1779–1868), managing director of
Franz Haniel & Cie.
Karl Haniel (1877–1944), managing director of Franz Haniel & Cie.
Edmund Heckler (1906–1960), co-founder
Heckler & Koch , 1948
Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), founder of
Heinkel , manufacturers of airplanes
Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founder of
Hellmann's Mayonnaise
Johann Peter Henckels , founder of (Zwilling)
J.A. Henckels , manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848–1930), founder of
Henkel
Max Herz (1905–1965), co-founder of
Tchibo , 1949
Dietmar Hopp (born 1940), co-founder of
SAP
August Horch (1868–1951), founder of
Audi automobile company in 1909
Helmut Horten (1909–1987), founder of
Horten AG
Georg Ferdinand Howaldt (1802–1883), founder of
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
Carolus Magnus Hutschenreuther (1794–1845), founder of
Hutschenreuther
Christoph Ingenhoven (1960), founder of christoph ingenhoven architects
Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), founder of
Junkers in 1895, manufacturers of airplanes
Rudolph Karstadt (1856–1944), founder of
Karstadt
Ernst Keil (1816–1878), founder and publisher of
Die Gartenlaube
Erich Kellerhals (1939–2017), co-founder of
Media Markt
Carl Kellner , founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became
Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
Roman Kirsch , founder of
Lesara
Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr (1800–1875) founder of
Knorr
Georg Krauß (1826–1906), co-founder of
Krauss-Maffei , 1838
Theodor Koch (1905–1976), co-founder of
Heckler & Koch , 1948
Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers
ThyssenKrupp AG
Heinrich Lanz (1838–1905), founder of
Heinrich Lanz AG
Henry Lehman (1822–1855),
Emanuel Lehman (1827–1907) and
Mayer Lehman (1830–1897), German-born bankers, co-founders of
Lehman Brothers
Ernst Leitz II (1871–1956), owner of Leitz Camera
Louis Leitz (1846–1918), founder of
Leitz
Carl von Linde (1842–1934), founder of
The Linde Group
Henry Lomb (1828–1908), co-founder of
Bausch & Lomb
Friedrich Lürssen (1851–1916), founder of
Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships
Joseph Anton von Maffei (1790–1870), founder of
Maffei , later 1838
Krauss-Maffei
Wolfgang Marguerre (born 1941), founder of
Octapharma
Carl Alexander von Martius (1838–1920), co-founder of
Agfa
Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (1859–1955), founder of the processed-meat firm
Oscar Mayer
Friedrich Jacob Merck (1621–1678), founder of
Merck KGaA (Engel-Apotheke in Darmstadt)
George Merck (1867–1926), founder of
Merck & Co.
Joseph Mendelssohn (1770–1848), founder of former bank
Mendelssohn & Co.
Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1841–1880), co-founder of
Agfa
Willy Messerschmitt (1898–1978), founder of
Messerschmitt
Heinrich Meyerfreund , founder of
Garoto , chocolate company in
Brazil
Carl Miele (1869–1938), founder of
Miele , manufacturer of domestic appliances
Frederick Miller (born as Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller) (1824–1888), founder of the
Miller Brewing Company in 1855
N–Z
Josef Neckermann (1912–1992), founder of the company
Neckermann
August Oetker (1862–1918), founder of the company
Dr Oetker
Adam Opel (1837–1895), founder of the automobile company
Adam Opel AG
Franz Oppenheim (1852–1929), chemist, industrialist and entrepreneur
Salomon Oppenheim (1772–1828), founder of bank
Sal. Oppenheim
Ernest Oppenheimer (1880–1957), diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled
De Beers and founded the
Anglo American Corporation of South Africa
Werner Otto (1909–2011), founder of
Otto GmbH , now Otto Group, a mail order company
Hasso Plattner (born 1944), co-founder of
SAP
Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of
Porsche
Günther Quandt (1881–1954), industrial, entrepreneur of different companies (today includes
BMW AG and
Altana (chemicals)
Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became
BMW AG
Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of
AEG
Paul Reuter (1816–1899), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of
Reuters news agency
Hans Riegel, Sr. (1893–1945), founder of
Haribo , the manufacturer of gummi and jelly sweets
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), founder of British company
N M Rothschild & Sons
Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founder of the pharmaceutical company
Schering AG
Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), founder of
Quelle
Anton Schlecker (born 1944), founder of
Schlecker
Ernst Schmidt and
Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988), founders of
Metro AG
Dieter Schwarz (born 1939), owner of
Schwarz Gruppe
Alex Seidel (1909–1989), co-founder of
Heckler & Koch , 1948
Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founder of
Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high-fidelity products
Georg von Siemens (1839–1901), co-founder of
Deutsche Bank
Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of
Siemens , the electronics and electrical engineering company
Friedrich Soennecken (1848–1919), founder of
Soennecken
J.S. Staedtler , in 1835 founded
Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments
Bruno Steinhoff (born 1937), founder of
Steinhoff
Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company
Steinway & Sons
Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), co-founder of
Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG
August Storck-Oberwelland , in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now
August Storck AG
Franz Ströher (c. 1854–1936), in 1880 founded cosmetics company
Wella AG
Carl Tchilinghiryan (1910–1987), in 1949, co-founder of company
Tchibo
Carl von Thieme (1844–1924), founder of
Allianz AG , a financial services company
August Thyssen (1842–1926), founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr
Friedrich Thyssen (1804–1877), founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen
Hermann Tietz (1837–1907), founder of
Hertie , a department store
Klaus Tschira (1940–2015), co-founder of
SAP
Leopold Ullstein (1826–1899), founder of publishing company
Ullstein Verlag
Ernst Voss (1842–1920), in 1877, co-founder of
Blohm+Voss , manufacturers of ships
Carl Walther (1858–1915), founder of company
Carl Walther , manufacturer of guns
Moses Marcus Warburg and
Gerson Warburg , co-founder of
M. M. Warburg & Co. , German bank
Siegmund Warburg , founder of
S. G. Warburg & Co. , British bank
Claus Wellenreuther (born 1935), co-founder of
SAP
Bartholomeus V. Welser (1484–1561),
Welser brothers bank
Georg Wertheim (1857–1939), founder of
Wertheim , a department store
Aloys Wobben (1952–2021), founder of
Enercon
Reinhold Würth (born 1935), company
Würth
Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), founder of
Carl Zeiss AG , a maker of optical instruments
Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the
Zeppelin ; founder of the
Zeppelin Airship company
Historical
Diaspora
Europe
Central Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe Multinational dimension
Americas
Africa Asia Oceania
See also