Hugo Mann
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Hugo Mann | |
Born | November 17, 1912 Germany |
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Residence | Karlsruhe, Germany, Europe & Russia |
Net worth | 2.6 Billion |
Spouse | married |
Children | 3 |
Hugo Mann Founded the Wertkauf retail chain in 1958; sold it to Wal-Mart in 1997 for $500 million. Last summer sold his Mann Mobilia furniture chain to the Austrian Lutz Group for an estimated $240 million. Still owns more than 11 million square feet of premium real estate throughout the U.S., managed by the family's Sunbelt Management Company in Delray, Fla. Karlsruhe GERMANY $1.8 Wertkauf-Mann Group: supermarkets, furniture retailing. Trained as a cabinetmaker in his grandfather's workshop, Mann made his first pfennigs selling bedroom furniture and quickly became a successful merchant. In the 1950s he opened his first Wertkauf, a stadium-size market selling food and other items, and today he is one of Germany's biggest retailers. Son Johannes took over running the company in 1989. His son JOHANNES MANN, 40 Karlsruhe GERMANY $1.8 Wertkauf-Mann Group: hypermarkets, furniture retailing; real estate. The Mann family's hypermarkets failed to excite Americans in the early Eighties, but shopping in virtual stadiums is popular among Germans. Johannes studied business at NYU, perfected his Yankee accent, and snagged an American wife before taking over from his father in 1989.