Günther Fielmann (born 17 September 1939) is a German billionaire businessman, the founder, majority owner and the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

Fielmann Fielmann AG is a German eye-wear company. The Fielmann stock is listed in the German SDAX index and at the northern German regional HASPAX index. With 5% of all optical stores, Fielmann achieved a 22% sales market share and a 53% market share ...

, a German optics company focusing on retail eyewear. As of August 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$5.8 billion

Career

1972 the state-approved optometrist opened his first shop in

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

. In 1981 he revolutionised the German spectacle market by offering 90 fashionable frames for the allowance of the statutory health insurance funds (initial tariff). Because previously only 6 models were available in exchange for the insurance allowance, Fielmann thus removed the social stigma of having to wear glasses. This liberalisation, favourable media coverage ("Robin Hood of spectacle wearers") and aggressive marketing allowed his business to grow rapidly. In 1982 a new shop was opened in Kiel offering more than 7,000 frames to choose from. In 1994 the Fielmann KG was transformed into Fielmann AG and went public. In 2002, Fielmann bought

Plön Castle Plön Castle (german: Plöner Schloss) in Plön is one of the largest castles in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein and the only one located on a hill.

from the state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

and had it renovated extensively. Since 2003 he trains his optometrists in the castle. From 2005/06 onwards bachelor's and master's degrees in optometry are being offered in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Lübeck.

Personal life

Fielmann has two children with Heike Fielmann from whom he is divorced. His son,

Marc Fielmann Marc David Günther Fielmann known as Marc Fielmann (born 24 July 1989) is a German businessman and optometrist. He is the CEO of Fielmann Group, the leading European eyewear provider which was founded by his father Günther Fielmann. Fielmann w ...

, has taken over the company in 2018.

Other activities

For each of his employees Fielmann plants a tree every year. In May 2009 he planted the one-millionth tree with chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

and minister president

Peter Harry Carstensen Peter Harry Carstensen (born 12 March 1947) is a German politician, in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. From 2005 to 2012 he was Minister President of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, serving as President of the Bundesrat in 2005/ ...

.Angela Merkels Stippvisite beim Brillenkönig
20. Mai 2009 Fielmann is also a passionate organic farmer. He owns the 1,600 hectares manor

Schierensee Schierensee is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

, the 470 hectares manor Marutendorf in

Achterwehr Achterwehr is a municipality, located in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde in the German '' Bundesland'' of Schleswig-Holstein. Achterwehr is situated 12 km west of Kiel and about 5 km south of the Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-K ...

, the 180 hectares farm Möglin in

Krummwisch Krummwisch is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The location of Krummwisch is south of the municipality of Lindau or Schinkel, but north of Bredenbek or Felde, and east of Bovenau Bovena ...

and a farm in Lütjensee. The organic products of his farms he sells under the brand ''Hof Lütjensee''.

Awards

In 2000 Fielmann received the Federal Cross of Merit First Class from the state of

. Two years later (2002) the state also bestowed the title of a professor (honoris causis) upon him. In 2003 he received the "Deutscher Gründerpreis" (Prize for German Founders). The agricultural and nutrition sciences department of the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate in December 2004. In 2011 Fielmann was accepted into the Hall of Fame of

manager magazin ''Manager Magazin'' (stylized as ''manager magazin'') is a German monthly business magazine focusing on business, finance and management based in Hamburg, Germany. History and profile ''Manager Magazin'' was first published on 1 November 1971. ...

External links

NDR-Portrait (2009) "Günther Fielmann - Der Weitblicker"
(German video)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielmann, Gunther 1939 births Living people People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein German businesspeople in retailing German chief executives Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German billionaires German company founders 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesspeople