Götz Werner

Götz Wolfgang Werner (5 February 1944 – 8 February 2022) was a German billionaire businessman and founder of the dm-drogerie markt retail store chain. He was also known as an advocate of universal basic income (UBI).

Götz Werner
Werner at the re:publica in 2010
Born	Götz Wolfgang Werner (1944-02-05)5 February 1944 Heidelberg, Baden, Germany
Died	8 February 2022(2022-02-08) (aged 78) Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Nationality	German
Other names	Götz W. Werner
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Founding dm-drogerie markt UBI advocate
Children	7

In 2013, Manager Magazin estimated his net worth to be around €1.1 billion, making him the 109th-richest German.^[1]

Career

In 1973, Werner co-founded his first drugstore, dm-drogerie markt, a German drugstore chain, in Karlsruhe. By 1978, there were more than 100 branches in Germany.^[2][3] Later he was member of the advisory board of dm.^[4] In 1976, Werner expanded into the Austrian market. He led the company for 35 years. From October 2003 till September 2010, he was the head of the Cross-Department Group for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Till 2018 he was president of the EHI Retail Institute (EHI).^[5][6]

Inspired by Rudolf Steiner's teachings of anthroposophy, Werner was one of the most influential advocates of basic income in Germany (1000 Euros for everyone^[7]). He founded the initiative Unternimm die Zukunft, or Become an entrepreneur of the future.^[8]

Personal life and death

Werner was married twice and had seven children.^[9][10] He died in Stuttgart on 8 February 2022, at the age of 78.^[11][12]

Bibliography

• Einkommen für alle. Der dm-Chef über die Machbarkeit des bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Köln 2007, ISBN 978-3-462-03775-3.
• with Adrienne Goehler: 1000 € für jeden. Freiheit, Gleichheit, Grundeinkommen. Econ, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-430-20108-7.
• with Claudia Cornelson: Womit ich nie gerechnet habe. Die Autobiographie, Berlin: Ullstein 2013, ISBN 978-3-430-20153-7.
• with Peter Dellbrügger (Hrsg.): Wozu Führung? Dimensionen einer Kunst. KIT Scientific Publishing, Karlsruhe 2013, ISBN 978-3-7315-0116-9.

References

1. „Die 500 reichsten Deutschen“, Manager Magazin special issue, October 2013, p. 64
2. "Guenther Lehmann & family". Forbes. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. "Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft (HsKA)". www.hs-karlsruhe.de. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Staffelstabübergabe". EHI Retail Institute (in German). 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
6. "TEDxMannheim | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
7. Götz Werner - 1000 Euro für Jeden (Freiheit Gleichheit Grundeinkommen) on YouTube
8. unternimm-die-zukunft.de
9. "Götz Werner Lebenslauf". Was War Wann. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
10. "ENTHÜLLT✘ Krasser Fehler - dm Chef Götz Werner Vermögen verloren..." Indect-Project - gut zu wissen! (in German). 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
11. "dm-Gründer Prof. Götz W. Werner verstorben". newsroom.dm.de (in German). 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
12. "Prof. Götz W. Werner". unternimm-die-zukunft.de (in German). Archived from the original on 26 November 2005. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

External links

• Götz Werner Archived 5 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine on the Unternimm die Zukunft website (in German)