Reinhold Wuerth

Reinhold Wuerth was born on April 20, 1935 in Kuenzelsau, Germany, Germany. Reinhold Wuerth entered his father's wholesale screw business in 1949, at age 14, as the company's second employee and first apprentice. After his father's sudden death in 1954, he took the reins and honed a competitive advantage by delivering goods directly to customers on construction sites and in mechanical shops. Now the leading global supplier of assembly and fastening materials for the automotive, construction and engineering trades, Wuerth Group has sales of over $11 billion and some 71,000 employees in more than 430 branches in 80-plus countries. Reinhold Wuerth -- who celebrated his 65th work anniversary in 2014 and his 80th birthday in 2015 -- retired in 1993, but he still serves as chairman of the supervisory board of the Wuerth Group´s family trusts. His daughter Bettina Wuerth is chairwoman of the advisory board of Wuerth Group. His vast art collection, which began with an Emil Nolde painting acquired in 1964, consists of an estimated 17,000 pieces including works by Edvard Munch, Max Beckmann and Pablo Picasso. Selections are displayed in four principal museums in Germany and Switzerland, as well as in Wuerth Group offices throughout Europe. In 2011, he spent about $68 million to acquire the Virgin of Mercy ("Schutzmantelmadonna" in German), a revered painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. An enthusiastic aviator, he has a pilot's license and owns five jets and a small airport.
Reinhold Wuerth is a member of Manufacturing