Karl-Heinz Kipp
Karl-Heinz Kipp is the billionaire founder of the Massa chain of German department stores and, having since sold the business whilst keeping the property, has a large property portfolio. [1] In 2010 the Forbes list of the world's richest people ranked him 154th with net wealth of $5bn. [1]
He began his career in 1948 selling clothes and opened his first Massa department store in 1965. [1] The Massa stores were introduced on the German stock market in 1986. In 1987 Kipp sold his remaining shares but he kept the real estate of the stores, which he rents to retailer Metro. .[1] Kipp also owns real estate in the US, notably several high-end properties in Manhattan including 950 Third Avenue. [1] In addition, he has five Swiss hotels and resorts reunited in the "Tschuggen Hotel Group". 3 Hotels are Luxury Hotels, the Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona, the Carlton Hotel [2] in St Moritz and the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa. Kipp and his wife, Hannelore. [1] live in Switzerland.
His son, former Florida resident Ernst-Ludwig who died in 2003.
His daughter Ursula married Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer and together they produced three sons, Felix (a singer with rock group Hey Negrita), Goetz, and Till, and a daughter, Laura (an Olympic dressage rider). [3]