Theo Müller (January 29, 1940) is a German businessman. He is the head of the dairy company Müller, which was founded by his grandfather.

Early life

Theo Müller was born in Aretsried, Germany, in 1940, the son of Alois Müller.

Career

The Müller company was founded in 1896 by his grandfather Ludwig Müller in Aretsried, Bavaria. In 1938, his father Alois Müller took over. Theo took over in 1971, when the dairy business only had four employees. Today, apart from the dairy businesses, Theo Müller Group has a packing company (Optipack), logistics (

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), transportation (Fahrzeugtechnik Aretsried), fruit processing (Muller Naturfarm) and a fish restaurant chain (

Nordsee NORDSEE is a German fast-food restaurant chain specialising in seafood. In addition to selling raw and smoked seafood, the company also sells a wide variety of meals and products prepared from seafood such as Fischbrötchen (fish sandwiches) ...

). More recent acquisitions have included companies making chilled salad, sauces and dressings, speciality fish and baked goods. In 2012, the company purchased

Robert Wiseman Dairies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, which supplies 30% of the UK's fresh milk market, for £280 million. In November 2014, the company agreed to buy

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's milk business for £80 million. Theo Müller commented, "Bringing the two dairy operations together will enhance the merged business's ability to compete and will ensure that customers continue to receive quality products at low prices". Müller is the sole owner, and as of 2015, Ronald Kers is the CEO, replacing , who retired in 2015. The company now employs more than 20,000 workers.

Personal life

Müller has nine children, seven with his wife Hanna Bittmann, whom he divorced in 1995, and two daughters with his partner Ines Hüvel. His eldest son, Stefan Müller, is a board member of Theo Müller Group. In 1995, Müller survived a kidnapping attempt in which a pistol and electrical-shock equipment was held to his head. He jumped out of the car, and was working again later that afternoon. He has lived in Erlenbach, near Zurich, Switzerland since 2003. In an interview with ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' in 2003, Müller explained that he and his children were all moving to Switzerland to avoid having to pay Germany's 30% inheritance tax.

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading