Reinhold Würth (born 20 April 1935) is a German billionaire businessman and art collector. In 1954, at the age of 19, he took over his father’s tiny wholesale screw business and built it into the Würth Group, which posted €19.9 billion (US$21.68 billion) in sales in 2022.
Since the 1960s Würth has collected works of art. As of 2021, the collection contains over 18,300 works, specializing in art created from the late 19th century to today.
He is married with three children and lives in Künzelsau, Germany
The majority of Wuerth’s fortune is derived from his control of the Wuerth Group, a closely held manufacturer of screws and other building supplies. He controls the stake through a series of family trusts, which are held in the name of his three children, according to company filings.
The billionaire is credited with the fortune to reflect his role as chairman of the supervisory board of Wuerth Group’s family trusts. Wuerth Group has about 400 companies in 80 countries, more than 4 million customers and total sales of 19.9 billion euros ($21 billion) in 2022, according to its website.
The company’s valuation is based on the average of the enterprise value-to-Ebit and price-to-earnings multiples of four publicly traded peers: Stanley Black & Decker Inc, Forbo Holding AG, Masco Corp and Snap-on Inc. The financials were updated on July 11, 2023 and this led to an increase in the calculation of about $5 billion
The value of his cash and other assets is based on an analysis of insider transactions, taxes and market performance. It includes an art collection that contains more than 15,000 pieces, which is worth at least $500 million, according to a person familiar with the collection who asked not to be identified because its value is private.
Biography
Reinhold Wuerth was born in Oehringen, Germany in 1935, to Alma and Adolf Wuerth. His parents started a screw selling business in Kuenzelsau, Germany, in July 1945. He quit high school at age 14 to join the family business, inheriting the company after his father’s death five years later.
When he took control in 1954, the company had $100,000 in sales. Global expansion followed and by 1988 revenue reached $1 billion. He stepped down as CEO in 1994 and became chairman of the company’s supervisory board. His daughter, Bettina, took over his board position in 2006, when Wuerth was named honorary chairman.
The billionaire lives with his wife, Carmen, and the couple has three children. They have an art collection of more than 15,000 works and opened the Kunsthalle Wuerth museum in 2001 to display part of the collection to the public.
Honors and awards
Würth has received many honors including being inducted into Hall of Fame of German Industry and receiving the Ludwig Erhard medal, which rewards individuals who have attained exemplary results in their work for the public good and for the development of the social market economy.
Würth is an honorary doctor and honorary senator of the University of Tübingen and was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Grand Cross of the Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Diesel medal, and the Medal of Merit of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In March 2004, he received the French medal and was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour. On 18 November 2005, he was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a military and civil order of the Netherlands, by royal decision.
- 1985 Federal Cross of Merit
- 1987 Economic Medal of the State of Baden-Württemberg
- 1991 Honorary Senator of the University of Tübingen
- 1994 Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
- 1996 Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
- 1998 Montblanc de la Culture (for involvement in the promotion of art and culture)
- 1999: Professor at the University of Karlsruhe (TH), management of inter-faculty Institute for Entrepreneurship
Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Economics, University of TübingenStaufer Medal
- 2000 Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)
- 2001 Innovation Award of the SPD
- 2002 Reinhold-Maier Medal of Reinhold-Maier Foundation
- 2003 Honorary Citizen of Künzelsau
- 2004 Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)
Acceptance into the Business Hall of Fame (Initiative of Manager Magazin and the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland), Bonn, Germany)German Founder’s Award for Lifetime AchievementLudwig Erhard Prize for Business JournalismDiesel Gold Medal of the German Institute for Inventions
Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)Honorary Senator of the University of Stuttgart
- May 2007: Honorary doctorate in art history and museum design at the University of Palermo
- November 2007: Honorary doctorate from the University of Louisville (Kentucky, USA)
- 2008 Grand Order of Merit of South Tyrol
- 2009 University Award of the University of Tübingen
Entrepreneur Award 2009 of the Business Club Aachen-Maastricht
- 2011 Emil Beck Memorial Award of the Fencing Club Tauberbischofsheim
- 2012 James Simon Prize of James Simon Foundation to Carmen and Reinhold Würth – Award for exemplary, social and cultural activities in Germany
Carl-Friedrich Medal of the Faculty of Economics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- 2013 International Folkwang Prize
- 2015: Honorary Citizen of Schwäbisch Hall
Milestones
- 1935 Born in Kuenzelsau, Germany.
- 1945 Father Adolf starts a screw wholesale company in Kuenzelsau.
- 1949 Becomes the second employee of his father’s company, aged 14.
- 1954 Adolf dies; Wuerth inherits company at age 19.
- 1962 Sets up company’s first foreign office in the Netherlands.
- 1987 Creates Wuerth Foundation with his wife Carmen.
- 1994 Steps down as CEO and becomes chairman of the advisory board.
- 2001 Wuerth Museum opens and holds first exhibition.
