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Hans RiegelFounder of a large food company 'Haribo'
Country:
 Germany |
Content:
Biography of Hans Riegel
Hans Riegel was a German entrepreneur and billionaire who owned and managed the famous confectionery company 'Haribo' from 1946. He also owned the 'Jakobsburg' hotel and golf resort located near Boppard in the Rhine Valley of Germany.
Early Life and Education
Johannes Peter 'Hans' Riegel was born on March 10, 1923, in Bonn, Germany. He was the eldest son of 'Haribo' founder Hans Riegel Sr., who invented the famous 'gummy bears' in 1922. After completing his education at a Jesuit boarding school, St. Aloysius College, Riegel was drafted into military service in 1944. He was captured by the Americans and was freed in 1946. With a high school diploma in hand, Hans started working in the delivery and marketing department of a company while simultaneously studying economics at the University of Bonn. In 1951, he defended his doctoral dissertation titled 'The Development of the World Sugar Industry during and after World War II'.
Sports and Business Ventures
In 1953, Hans Riegel was elected as the first president of the German Badminton Association (Deutscher Badminton-Verband) after winning the German badminton championship in men's doubles. He also won the German championship in mixed doubles in 1954 and 1955. During this period, Riegel organized the construction of the first indoor badminton court in Germany, which was named the 'Haribo-Centre' in Bonn. In 1956, he co-authored the book 'Handbuch des Badminton-Sports' with Josef Holthausen. That same year, Riegel established a sports award named after himself in the field of badminton.
Later Life and Legacy
In May 2008, the world's largest investor, Warren Buffett, expressed his interest in collaborating with 'Haribo', but Hans Riegel, then an 85-year-old childless billionaire, did not accept the American investor's offer. Hans Riegel continued to lead 'Haribo' with the support of his nephews, Hans Arndt Riegel and Hans Guido Riegel, after the death of his brother, Paul Riegel, in 2009. The brothers had taken over the reins of the company in 1946, reorganizing and establishing new principles of operation for 'Haribo'. Hans was responsible for the commercial side of the business, while his brother directly controlled the production processes.
Riegel held a helicopter pilot's license and was often seen in public with Anna-Maria Bischof, the hotel manager, who was 40 years younger than him. In July 2013, Hans had to undergo surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. He passed away on October 15, 2015, at the age of 91, due to heart failure. He was buried in the family mausoleum at Südfriedhof cemetery in Bonn. In 1994, Hans Riegel was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his social commitments and contributions to the development of sports.
In October 2009, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs honored Hans Riegel as a Knight of the Legion of Honor. That same year, he also received the honorary award 'For Services to the Republic of Austria'.
Since 2006, the Hans Riegel Foundation in cooperation with the Ruhr University in Bochum has awarded monetary prizes to high school students whose works in mathematics and natural sciences present scientific interest.
