Bergit Douglas

$2.1 B

The Oetker fortune — of which Bergit Graefin Douglas is one of eight billionaire beneficiaries — was built on baking and pudding powder. Now broadly diversified, Dr August Oetker KG — a holding company whose subsidiaries employ some 26,000 people and generate around $15 billion in annual revenue — traces its roots 1891, when August Oetker, a pharmacist, started selling non-perishable baking powder. After World War II, his grandson Rudolf August Oetker, a former Nazi SS officer, quickly rose to prominence as the driving force behind one of Germany’s most recognizable brands. In 1950, according to the family history “Die Oetkers,” Oetker produced more than 750 million packages of baking and pudding powder. Personifying Germany’s Wirtschaftswunder, or economic miracle, he developed additional food products and expanded into beverages, container shipping, financial services and luxury hotels. He died in 2007, at age 90, leaving eight children from three marriages. The heirs, who along with their families each own 12.5% percent of the conglomerate, have disagreed over the management and future direction of Oetker, however. Split into two camps, the rivalry is between the children from Rudolf August’s first two marriages — Bergit Douglas and Rosely Schweizer, plus Richard, Christian and August Oetker — and the siblings from the third marriage: Alfred, Carl Ferdinand and Julia Oetker. Alfred was expected to take over as general partner from his half-brother August in 2010, but he was blocked by the older siblings, who instead crowned Richard Oetker. In January 2015, with a proxy fight pending before an arbitration tribunal, the groups agreed to recruit an outside CEO when Richard retires in 2017. Bergit Douglas, who has an interior design business based in Frankfurt, redesigned some of the family’s hotels. She is married to Christoph Douglas, an art consultant and former head of Sotheby’s in Germany.

Bergit Douglas Net Worth: Bergit Douglas is a German entrepreneur who has a net worth of $1.7 billion. Bergit Douglas is one of the eight beneficiaries to the Oetker fortune that is based on production of baking and pudding powder, cake mixes, frozen pizza, yoghurts and similar products. Broadly diversified today, Dr. Oetker is a limited partnership whose subsidiaries employ some 26,000 people and generate around $15 billion in annual revenue. The story of this successful business dates back to 1891, when August Oetker, a pharmacist, started selling non-perishable baking powder. He was succeeded by his grandson Rudolf August Oetker, who rose to prominence in the post-World War II period as the driving force behind Dr. Oetker. The brand soon became one of the most recognizable in the country. According to 1950 records, the company made over 750 million packages of baking and pudding powder that year. Later on, Dr. Oetker added to its portfolio additional food products and expanded into beverages, as well as developed container shipping, financial services and luxury hotels. At the time of his death in 2007, he served as chairman of the company’s advisory board and left behind eight children from three marriages. Even though each of his children received 12.5% percent of the Bielefeld-based Dr. Oetker, the equitable distribution of shares has obviously failed to serve as a recipe for harmony. The heirs are split in two groups: the children from Rudolf August’s first two marriages (Rosely Schweizer, August, Christian and Richard Oetker and Bergit Douglas) on one side, and the siblings from the third marriage: Julia, Carl Ferdinand and Alfred Oetker on the other. The dispute is likely to culminate in 2017, when current leader Richard Oetker intends to step down and retire.

Source:

1. forbes

2. celebritynetworth

Bergit Douglas

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