Klaus Johann Jacobs

Klaus Johann Jacobs (3 December 1936 – 11 September 2008) was a German-born billionaire in the coffee and chocolate industry, with Swiss citizenship.^[1]

Klaus Johann Jacobs
Jacobs circa 2000
Born	(1936-12-03)December 3, 1936 Bremen, Germany
Died	September 11, 2008(2008-09-11) (aged 71) Küsnacht, Switzerland
Other names	Klaus J. Jacobs
Citizenship	Swiss
Alma mater	University of Hamburg Stanford University
Occupation(s)	Food and beverage company founder, chocolatier
Known for	Jacobs AG
Spouse	Renata Jacobs
Children	6 (including Andreas Jacobs)

Early life and education

He was born on 3 December 1936 in Bremen, Germany. Jacobs attended the University of Hamburg and later Stanford University.^[2]

Career

He started his career in the global coffee and chocolates industries.^[3]

• In 1962, he became Director of Purchasing and Marketing for the Jacobs AG coffee business.
• In 1972 he became General Manager of the company.
• In 1982, the company merged with Interfood to create Jacobs Suchard AG, Europe's number one chocolate and coffee business.
• In 1987, Jacobs expanded his business in North America with acquisition of Brach's.^[4]
• In 1990, when most of the consumer-oriented elements of Jacobs Suchard were sold to Philip Morris, Jacobs created with Brach's and non-consumer businesses of Jacobs Suchard a company which is now known as Barry Callebaut. Barry Callebaut is today the world's largest raw chocolate producer being embroiled in both childslavery^[5] and deforestation of protected areas^[6][7][8] As a result of cocoa production, 7 of the 23 Ivorian protected areas have been almost entirely converted to cocoa.^[9]
• In 1991, Jacobs became also involved with the human resource services industry with the acquisition of Adia Personnel Services where he led the company to a Global Fortune 500 Company following the merger with Ecco in 1996 to form Adecco.^[3]

Philanthropy

The Jacobs Foundation was established by Klaus J. Jacobs in December 1988, in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2001, the founder surrendered his entire share of the Jacobs Holding AG to the Jacobs Foundation, with an effective value of CHF 1.5 billion ($ 900 million). The Jacobs Foundation's goal is to contribute to Productive Youth Development by bringing together basic research, application and intervention projects and through dialogue and network building.^[10] The Jacobs Foundation supports research and projects worldwide. Klaus J. Jacobs donated EUR 200 million to the Jacobs University Bremen in 2006.

Death

He died on 11 September 2008 in Küsnacht, Switzerland.^[11][12]

Memberships

• World Scout Foundation
• President of the Friends of the Hohe Tauern National Park from 1996 to 1998
• Board of Directors of the Zurich Opera House since 2003
• Board of the Association of the Friends of Bayreuth

Decorations and awards

• 2005: Honorary doctor of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Basel^[13]
• 2005: Education Award of the College of Education Zurich for educational and youth projects
• 16 April 2008: Bremen Gold Medal of Honour for services rendered to the benefit of the city of Bremen
• 2008: Leibniz Medal of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences for his contributions to the advancement of science
• 1999: Silver World Award of the Boy Scouts of America
• 2005-2008: Bronze Wolf Award of the World Scout Committee
• 1991: Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria^[14]
• 2000: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class^[15]

Klaus J. Jacobs Awards

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award honours outstanding achievement in child and youth development and the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award for positive development of children and youth are awarded annually in memory of Jacobs. The first award ceremony took place on 3 December 2009. The awards are given by the Jacobs Foundation of Zurich.

Background

The prizes are given to honour outstanding achievements in research and practice that make a significant contribution to young people's success in life and development.

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award recognises academic research of significant social relevance for child and youth development. Additionally, research findings from the interdisciplinary projects thus honoured should be suited to active practical implementation. The prize money for the award comes to one million Swiss Francs, which can be used for an academic project chosen by the recipient.

The award winner is chosen by a jury of internationally respected researchers: Albert Bandura (Stanford University, USA), Monique Boekaerts (Leiden University, the Netherlands), Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (Columbia University, USA), Anne C. Petersen Michigan University, USA), Meinrad Paul Perrez (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland), Rainer K. Silbereisen (Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Germany) and William Julius Wilson (Harvard University, USA).

The Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award

The Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award is given for exceptional engagement by an institution or individual whose practical work makes real use of innovative ideas for the positive development of children and youth. The prize money amounts to 200,000 Swiss Francs which can be used for a project chosen by the recipient.

The award winner of the Best Practice Award is chosen by the board of the Jacobs Foundation.

Year	Research Award Winner	Best Practice Award!
2009	Laurence Steinberg (Temple University)	Father Johann Casutt (ATMI, Surakarta, Indonesia)
2010	Terrie Moffitt (Duke University) Avshalom Caspi (King's College London)	Opstapje, Germany a:primo, Switzerland
2011	Michael Tomasello (Duke University)	Christiane Daepp (Ideenbüro, Switzerland)
2012	Dante Cicchetti (University of Minnesota)	Off Road Kids Foundation, Germany
2013	Greg J. Duncan (University of California, Irvine)	ELTERN-AG, Germany
2014	Michael Meaney (McGill University, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research)	The Serenity Harm Reduction Programme, Zambia
2015	Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (University College London)	Gesamtschule Unterstrass, Zurich
2016	Orazio Attanasio (University College London)	International Child Support-Skilfull Parenting, Kenya

References

1. "Private excellence initiative: Jacobs Foundation invests 200 million Euro in the education of young people at International University Bremen". Jacobs University Bremen. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
2. von Schnurbein, Georg (2010), "Jacobs, Klaus Johann", in Anheier, Helmut K.; Toepler, Stefan (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Civil Society, New York, NY: Springer US, p. 899, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-93996-4_231, ISBN 978-0-387-93996-4, retrieved 2022-10-26
3. "Billionaire entrepreneur". Los Angeles Times. 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
4. E.J. Brach: A Misadventure in Candy Land. Dr. Robert Ginsburg, Xiaochang Jin, and Sheila McCann. Midwest Center for Labor Research. May, 1994
5. "Chocolate's Dark Secret". September 2017.
6. Covey, R. and McGraw, W. S. "Monkeys in a West African bushmeat market: implications for cercopithecid conservation in eastern Liberia." Tropical Conservation Science. 7.1 (2014): 115–125.
7. Marchesi, P., Marchesi, N., Fruth, B., and Boesch, C. "Census and Distribution of Chimpanzees in Cote D’Ivoire." PRIMATES. 36.4(1995): 591–607.
8. "Poaching contributes to forest elephant declines in Côte d’Ivoire, new numbers reveal." WWF. 5 September 2011.
9. Bitty, A. E., Gonedele, S. B., Koffi Bene, J.C., Kouass, P.Q.I and McGraw, W. S. "Cocoa farming and primate extirpation inside The Ivory Coast’s protected areas." Tropical Conservation Science. 8.1(2015): 95–113.
10. "Coffee and chocolate magnate Klaus J Jacobs dies | Campden FB". www.campdenfb.com. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
11. "Klaus J. Jacobs; Billionaire entrepreneur". New York Times. September 12, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
12. Edward Beckett (September 13, 2008). "Chocolate King Jacobs Dies. Philanthropist succumbs to cancer at 71". Forbes magazine. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
13. "Honorary Awards Faculty of Psychology". University of Basel. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
14. "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 906. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
15. "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 1380. Retrieved 4 February 2013.

External links

• Jacobs Foundation