Aloys Wobben (22 January 1952 – 31 July 2021) was a German billionaire businessman, engineer, and the founder and owner of the wind turbine company

Enercon Enercon GmbH is a wind turbine manufacturer based in Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been the market leader in Germany since the mid-1990s. Enercon has production facilities in Germany (Aurich, Emden and Magdeburg), Brazil, India, Canada, ...

. He was one of the 50 richest people in Germany, with a fortune estimated at €4.78 billion, as of November 2020. As of August 2021, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' estimated his net worth to be US$7.1 billion.

Early life

Aloys Wobben was born in West Germany. He studied electrical engineering and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Oldenburg The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (german: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) is a university located in Oldenburg, Germany. It is one of the most important and highly regarded educational facilities in northwestern German ...

Career

In 1984 he founded the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon in

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both i ...

. He began developing and producing wind turbines with three employees. In the following years, Enercon developed into one of the most successful companies in the German wind energy industry. In 1993, Wobben switched production to the gearless wind turbine with full converter that he had developed. The Enercon E-40 turbine met expectations and ensured the company's worldwide success. For health reasons, Wobben withdrew from the operational business in 2012 and transferred his company shares to the Aloys-Wobben Foundation with effect from 1 October 2012. The foundation thus became the sole shareholder of the Enercon Group. According to ''

'', Wobben had a net worth of $7.1 billion as of August 2021.

Personal life

Wobben was married, with one child and lived in

. He died in August 2021, after a long illness.

Recognition

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2000

German Environmental Prize The German Environmental Prize (german: Deutscher Umweltpreis) is a government-sponsored award for protecting the environment. Worth €500,000, it is one of the most valuable environmental awards in Europe. The sponsor German Federal Environment ...

of the German Federal Environmental Foundation * 2004 European Solar Prize from

Eurosolar Eurosolar - European Association for Renewable Energies (Own spelling: EUROSOLAR) is a German association with headquarters in Bonn. The association has sections in 13 countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Georgia, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, ...

in the category "Special Prize for Special Personal Commitment" * 2006 Honorary doctorate from the

University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 prof ...

* 2006 Indigenat, a kind of "honorary citizenship", from the Ostfriesische Landschaft for services to the East Frisian economy * 2008 Rudolf Diesel Medal in Gold from the German Institute for Invention (DIE) * 2009

Lower Saxony State Prize The Lower Saxony State Prize (german: Niedersächsischer Staatspreis, links=no) has been awarded by the State of Lower Saxony since 2002. From 1978 to 1999 it was called the Lower Saxony Prize (german: Niedersachsenpreis, links=no). The award is pr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wobben, Aloys 1952 births 2021 deaths German company founders 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesspeople German billionaires People from Aurich Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Oldenburg alumni