Reinhold Würth (born 20 April 1935) is a German billionaire businessman and art collector. In 1954, at the age of 19, he took over his father's tiny wholesale screw business and built it into the Würth Group, which posted €14.4 billion (US$16.2 billion) in sales in 2020. Since the 1960s Würth has collected works of art. As of 2021, the collection contains over 18,300 works, specializing in art created from the late 19th century to today. He is married with three children and lives in

Künzelsau Künzelsau (; East Franconian: ''Kinzelse'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km (12 mi) north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37& ...

, Germany.

Honors and awards

Würth has received many honors including being inducted into Hall of Fame of German Industry and receiving the

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

medal, which rewards individuals who have attained exemplary results in their work for the public good and for the development of the

social market economy The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...

. Würth is an honorary doctor and honorary senator of the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

and was awarded the

Bundesverdienstkreuz 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 ...

(Grand Cross of the Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Diesel medal, and the Medal of Merit of the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. In March 2004, he received the French medal and was appointed a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. On 18 November 2005, he was appointed Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, a military and civil order of the Netherlands, by royal decision. *1985

Federal Cross of Merit 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 ...

*1987 Economic Medal of the

State of Baden-Württemberg State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, U ...

*1991 Honorary Senator of the University of Tübingen *1994

Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg (german: link=no, Verdienstorden des Landes Baden-Württemberg) is the highest award of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. Established 26 November 1974, it was originally called the Medal of Merit of Bad ...

*1996

Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class 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 ...

*1998 Montblanc de la Culture (for involvement in the promotion of art and culture) *1999: Professor at the

University of Karlsruhe (TH) The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

, management of inter-faculty Institute for Entrepreneurship :: Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Economics, University of Tübingen :: Staufer Medal *2000 Chevalier dans

l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...

(France) *2001 Innovation Award of the SPD *2002 Reinhold-Maier Medal of Reinhold-Maier Foundation *2003 Honorary Citizen of

*2004 Knight of the

(France) :: Acceptance into the Business Hall of Fame (Initiative of ''Manager Magazin'' and the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (''Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland''), Bonn, Germany) :: German Founder's Award for Lifetime Achievement :: Ludwig Erhard Prize for Business Journalism :: Diesel Gold Medal of the German Institute for Inventions *2005

Great Cross 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 ...

:: Officer in the

(Netherlands) :: Honorary Senator of the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wit ...

*May 2007: Honorary doctorate in art history and museum design at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...

*November 2007: Honorary doctorate from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

(Kentucky, USA) *2008 Grand Order of Merit of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

*2009 University Award of the University of Tübingen :: Entrepreneur Award 2009 of the Business Club Aachen-Maastricht *2011 Emil Beck Memorial Award of the Fencing Club Tauberbischofsheim *2012 James Simon Prize of James Simon Foundation to Carmen and Reinhold Würth - Award for exemplary, social and cultural activities in Germany :: Carl-Friedrich Medal of the Faculty of Economics at the

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

(KIT) *2013 International Folkwang Prize *2015: Honorary Citizen of

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

References

External links

Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurth, Reinhold 1935 births Living people People from Öhringen Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesspeople German art collectors 20th-century art collectors 21st-century art collectors German billionaires German industrialists People from the Free People's State of Württemberg Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Honors and awards

See also

References

External links