Walter Haefner (13 September 1910 – 19 June 2012) was a Swiss businessman and a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse owner and breeder in Ireland. As a young man Haefner went to work in the auto industry as an employee of the Swiss division of

General Motors Corporation The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

. He eventually moved to England where he acquired an automobile franchise before returning home to open a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

dealership. Recognizing the important role a computer could play in his growing chain of dealerships, in 1957 Haefner became one of the first in Switzerland to import an IBM system for business use. This led to his 1964 creation of Automation Center A.G., a computer services company in Zurich. In 1976 he expanded operations to the US and, after merging his company with Russell Artzt's and

Charles Wang Charles B. Wang (; August 19, 1944 – October 21, 2018) was a Chinese-American businessman and philanthropist, who was a co-founder and CEO of Computer Associates International, Inc. (later renamed CA Technologies). He was a minority owner (and ...

's publicly owned software company, Computer Associates International, Inc., in 1987, Haefner was CA's largest individual shareholder until his death. He continued to own

AMAG Automobil- und Motoren AMAG Group Ltd is a Swiss corporate group primarily active in the automotive trade. Since September 2019, the administration of the entire AMAG group has been based in Cham in the canton of Zug after relocating from Utoquai 49 in Zurich, where t ...

, a highly successful Swiss automobile dealership chain. Until his death, at age 101, he was the oldest person worth more than a billion dollars.

Moyglare Stud Farm

In 1962 Haefner purchased the Moyglare Stud Farm near the town of

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

, County Kildare, Ireland. His

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

have won numerous Group One and British Classic Races in England, Ireland, and France as well as important races at other venues in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong. In the United States Moyglare's racing stable was handled by trainer

Christophe Clement Christophe Clement (born November 1, 1965 in Paris, France) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States who won the 2014 Belmont Stakes with Tonalist. Racing background Clement initially acquired his training skills from his father ...

while Dermot K. Weld is the trainer in charge of its European operations. In 1991 Weld became the first European-based trainer to win a race in Hong Kong when Moyglare's colt Additional Risk won the Hong Kong Invitational Bowl at

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports I ...

. In 1975 the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History ...

honored Moyglare's contribution to Irish racing by naming a Group I race the

Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...

. In 1988 Trinity College, Dublin awarded Haefner an honorary doctorate for his services to the Irish bloodstock industry and for his contributions to education in Ireland. Selective major race wins by some of the horses owned or bred by Moyglare Stud Farm: * Additional Risk - Hong Kong Bowl * Again Tomorrow - Premio Parioli *

Assert Assertion or assert may refer to: Computing * Assertion (software development), a computer programming technique * assert.h, a header file in the standard library of the C programming language * Assertion definition language, a specification lang ...

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

Irish Derby Stakes The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of ...

* Bikala - Prix du Jockey Club,

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Long ...

Brief Truce Brief Truce (8 May 1989 – 14 August 2018) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning his only race as a juvenile in 1991 he improved in the spring of the following year to finish third in the Irish 2,00 ...

- St. James's Palace Stakes * Carwhite -

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), and ...

* Dance Design -

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it i ...

, Pretty Polly Stakes (2),

Tattersalls Gold Cup The Tattersalls Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 110 yards (2,112 ...

Definite Article An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...

National Stakes The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metr ...

* Dress To Thrill -

Matriarch Stakes :'' This article is about an American horse race. For the Australian horse race, see Matriarch Stakes (Australia).'' The Matriarch Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are of age thre ...

, Matron Stakes, Sun Chariot Stakes * Go And Go - Belmont Stakes * Market Booster - Pretty Polly Stakes, Bayerisches Zuchtrennen *

Media Puzzle Media Puzzle (May 7, 1997 – June 22, 2006), foaled in the United States was an Irish horse best known for his win in the 2002 Melbourne Cup. Background Media Puzzle was bred by Walter Haefner's Moyglare Stud Farm and owned by Dr. M. W. Smurf ...

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

Refuse To Bend Refuse To Bend (17 March 2000 – 10 February 2012) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Refuse To Bend was a bay horse with a white star and white socks on his hind legs bred by his owner the Swiss businessman Walter Hae ...

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year a ...

, Eclipse Stakes,

Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take pl ...

* Relaxed Gesture -

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creatio ...

* Stanerra -

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

Trusted Partner Trusted Partner (foaled 22 May 1985) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1987 when she won both of her races including the C L Weld Park Stakes and won the Irish ...

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled ...

Twilight Agenda Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ...

- won Meadowlands Cup,

San Pasqual Handicap The San Pasqual Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Grade II event is open to horses, age four and up, willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on ...

, Del Mar Breeders' Cup Mile. Career earnings of US$2,177,843

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haefner, Walter 1910 births 2012 deaths Swiss businesspeople Irish racehorse owners and breeders Swiss philanthropists Swiss centenarians Swiss billionaires 20th-century philanthropists Men centenarians

Moyglare Stud Farm

See also

References