Hansjörg Wyss
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Johann Georg "Hansjörg" Wyss ( ; born 19 September 1935) is a Swiss billionaire businessman and donor to politically liberal and environmental causes in the United States. He is the founder and former president and chairman of Synthes, a medical device manufacturer. His Wyss Foundation has nearly $2 billion in assets. As of 2025, Wyss ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' estimated his net worth at US$4.8 billion, while ''Bloomberg'' estimated his net worth at $12.7 billion. Having donated hundreds of millions of dollars to environmental causes, he has more recently increased his donations to groups promoting progressive causes. In 2024, Wyss additionally donated $100 million to the City of Berne which bequeathed
honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
on him. In the United States, Wyss is a major donor of the Democratic Party. Wyss's political giving has come under scrutiny since foreign nationals without permanent residency in the United States are prohibited from donating directly to federal political candidates or political action committees. He is the co-owner of football club Chelsea. He is one of the anchor shareholders of Lalique Group, with Müller Handels AG Schweiz, Dharampal Satyapal Limited, Hansjörg Wyss and Claudio Denz, they hold 42.67% of Lalique Group shares. In 2019, Hansjörg Wyss and Swiss entrepreneur Silvio Denz acquired the historic Glenturret Distillery in Scotland.


Early life and career

Wyss was born in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
, Switzerland, in 1935. His father sold mechanical calculators and his mother was a homemaker. He was brought up in a flat with two sisters. After receiving a master's degree in civil and structural engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 1959, Wyss earned an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
in 1965. Following that, he worked in various positions in the textile industry, including as a factory engineer and project manager for
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
in Pakistan, Turkey and the Philippines. Wyss also worked in the steel industry in Brussels, Belgium. During his time working in that industry, Wyss ran a side business selling airplanes. Through one sale, he met a surgeon who had co-founded Swiss
medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
manufacturer Synthes. After that meeting, Wyss spent two years learning about the medical device industry. He then founded and became president of Synthes USA in 1977.


Synthes USA

In 1977, Wyss founded and became president of Synthes USA, the U.S. division of the Switzerland-based Synthes, a medical device manufacturer making internal screws and plates for broken bones. He founded the company after meeting Martin Allgoewer, the founder of
AO Foundation The AO Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries or pathologies and their sequelae through research, development, and education of surgeons and operating room personnel. The AO ...
, and obtaining permission to sell the organization's devices in the Americas. In an early initiative, Wyss opened a Synthes USA manufacturing plant in Colorado. Prior to that, another Swiss company manufactured Synthes' devices and exported them to the U.S. Under Wyss' control, the U.S. division expanded its sales team and trained surgeons how to use its products. Wyss served as Synthes' worldwide CEO and chairman until his resignation as CEO in 2007. He maintained his post as company chairman until
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
acquired Synthes in 2012. During his tenure, Wyss said discussions of new products made up one-third of board meetings. A manager assigned to the Norian project testified before a grand jury that "for somebody who is at his level and his level of success, I would say he ysshas a surprising amount of contact with what's going on". Staff recalled meetings in which he intensively probed their projects. In 2009, top executives at Synthes were indicted by U.S. Attorneys for Eastern Pennsylvania for using an untested calcium-phosphate-based bone cement on human patients without authorization from the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
. Use of the bone cement resulted in the deaths of three people. Wyss was not indicted, but four top executives of Synthes were convicted and sentenced to prison terms."Bad to the Bone – a Medical Horror Story"
fortune.com, 18 September 2012.
In 2012, Wyss sold the company for $19.7 billion in cash and stock to
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
. According to ''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...
'', he received 97.4 million shares in Johnson & Johnson and $3.2 billion cash from the deal.


Philanthropy

According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', Wyss is "among the most philanthropic people in the world". Between 2004 and 2008, ''
Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' estimated that Wyss personally donated nearly US$277 million. His giving increased subsequent to the sale of Synthes in 2012. In 2013, he signed The Giving Pledge, agreeing to give away the majority of his fortune. The assets of his charitable foundations equal nearly $2 billion. He has made major donations to environmental and scientific causes, as well as progressive organizations, including the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Health Leads and the Constitutional Accountability Center. In 2019, Wyss promised to donate 20 million Swiss francs to the Bern Art Museum. He made it a condition that the Hodlerstrasse, on which the museum is located, be free of cars.


Environmentalism

As of 2015, Wyss and the Wyss Foundation had donated more than $350 million to
environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...
, including conservation of national forests and other public lands in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...
. In October 2018, Wyss published an article in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' stating that he was contributing $1 billion to environmental causes. Wyss has said that he became passionate about the American West and land preservation after visiting the U.S. in 1958 as a student and taking a summer job as a surveyor with the Colorado Highway Department. In 1998, he created the Wyss Foundation. The objective of the foundation was to establish and sponsor informal partnerships between non-governmental organizations and the United States government, in order to place large swathes of land under permanent protection in the American West. The organization sponsors the Wyss Scholars Program for graduate-level education in conservation. The landscape protection strategies of the foundation have included assisting the purchase of mineral leases from oil and gas companies. Other causes the Wyss Foundation supports include river restorations, ocean conservation in Peru and Canada, anti-
poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...
efforts in Africa and
environmental journalism Environmental journalism is the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, and issues associated with the non-human world. To be an environmental journalist, one must have an ...
. In 2017, the organization announced a charitable commitment of $65 million to African Parks, a conservation nonprofit overseeing ten parks in seven African nations, to help create new protected areas in Africa. In 2010, Wyss gave
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...
$35 million to purchase 310,000 acres in Montana as part of one of the largest private conservation purchases in the United States. In 2013, he donated $4.25 million to The Trust for Public Land for the purchase of oil and gas leases in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
to prevent development in the Hoback Basin. In 2016, Wyss made another donation to the Trust for Public Land that resulted in the expansion of
Saguaro National Park Saguaro National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in southeastern Arizona. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), about west of Tucson, Arizona, T ...
in Arizona by 300 acres, including a mile and a half of Rincon Creek. Wyss is involved with The Wilderness Society and Rails-to-Trails. He serves on the boards of the
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a wilderness preservation organization in the United States based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with field offices in Washington, D.C. and Moab, Utah. The organization formed in 1983 and is a partner in ...
, the
Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy think tank, research and advocacy organization which presents a Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal viewpoint on Economic policy, economic and social issues. CAP is headquarter ...
, and the Grand Canyon Trust. Wyss has donated more than $6 million to the Center for American Progress. In 2011, Wyss won the Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society for his conservation work. In January 2015, the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
U.S. news site '' The Daily Caller'' accused John Podesta, who was at the time an advisor on environmental issues to the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
, of an alleged ethics violation for pushing the advocacy agenda of a former employer because, previously, he had received $87,000 as a consulting fee for work he did in 2013 for the HJW Foundation (a Wyss organization that later was merged with the Wyss Foundation). According to the ''
High Country News ''High Country News'' is a monthly independent magazine based in Paonia, Colorado, that covers environmental, social, and political issues in the Western United States. Syndicated stories from ''High Country News'' have appeared in ''The New Yor ...
'', "nothing ever came of the accusations". In 2018, Wyss donated $1 billion to the Wyss Campaign for Nature, aiming to conserve 30% of the world's land and oceans by 2030.


Scientific research

In 2007, he received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, and in the fall of 2008, it was announced that Wyss donated the largest single endowment from one source in the history of Harvard, when he gave $125 million to found a multidisciplinary institute, the
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (pronounced "veese") is a cross-disciplinary research institute at Harvard University focused on bridging the gap between academia and industry (translational medicine) by drawing inspirat ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. In 2012–13, he announced the creation of the Campus Biotech and of its Wyss Center for Bio- and Neuro-engineering in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland. In 2014, Wyss donated $120 million to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
for the Wyss Translational Center Zurich. In 2019, Wyss donated a further $131 million to Harvard Business School to support the Wyss Institute. In 2020, Wyss donated CHF 100 million to support the Wyss Academy for Nature at the
University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...
.


Political activities

In 2015, Wyss publicly declared that he was in favor of higher
inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...
es for the wealthy in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Wyss is a member of the Democracy Alliance, a club of liberal donors. There has been a longstanding rivalry between billionaire Wyss, who supports liberal politics, and billionaire
Christoph Blocher Christoph Wolfram Blocher (; born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party ( ...
, who supports conservative politics. Both entered into public debates about the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union as well as the limitation of immigration into Switzerland. Wyss advocated openness toward the EU and immigrants while Blocher advocated for Switzerland's independence in those matters.


The Hub Project and Arabella Advisors

In 2021, ''The New York Times'' reported that Wyss had "quietly created a sophisticated political operation to advance progressive policy initiatives and the Democrats who support them". In 2015, the Wyss Foundation initiated The Hub Project, which seeks "to shape media coverage to help Democratic causes". The goal of The Hub Project is to help Democrats be more effective at conveying their arguments through the news media and directly to voters. It seeks to "dramatically shift the public debate and policy positions of core decision makers". The Hub Project engaged in paid advertising campaigns in 2018 that criticized Republican congressional candidates. The Hub Project is part of
Arabella Advisors Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.–based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a Modern liberalism in the United States, politically liberal "dark m ...
, a leading vehicle for funneling " dark money" on the political center-left. The Hub Project is housed within the Arabella-sponsored groups the New Venture Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Wyss has donated $245 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund since 2016. The Sixteen Thirty Fund gives directly to political committees and pays for TV ads that back specific candidates and causes. In 2022, the FEC said the Sixteen Thirty Fund should be required to register as a political committee, which would require more disclosure. The New Venture Fund underwrites
Acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
, which owns the Courier Newsroom, a group seeking to boost Democratic candidates through local news stories and advertising. The Wyss Foundation has donated to States Newsroom, a nonprofit media group. Media watchdog NewsGuard said State Newsroom's journalism had been "bought by people with a political agenda". In December 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the threat of foreign interference in U.S. elections. While federal law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to political candidates, campaigns, or super PACs, there is a loophole allowing foreign nationals to finance ballot measures. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, largely funded by Wyss, has spent over $130 million on ballot measures in 25 states. In the 2024 election cycle alone, the group spent $37 million on ballot measures across the U.S. focused on topics like abortion and election law. After Ohio banned foreign spending on ballot campaigns, the Sixteen Thirty Fund abruptly stopped spending in the state.


Bid for Tribune Publishing

In 2021, along with Stewart W. Bainum Jr., Wyss made a bid to buy
Tribune Publishing Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', t ...
, which publishes newspapers including ''
The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...
'' and ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
''. ''The New York Times'' reported that "the big-money activism of Mr. Wyss and Mr. Bainum highlights concerns that wealthy owners may try to influence news coverage to advance their political agendas", and on April 14, 2021, they identified him as the top bidder. On April 17, 2021, Wyss backed out of the potential deal while Bainum Jr. continued to seek alternate investors in his bid to buy Tribune Publishing.


Berger Action Fund

In 2023, the ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
'' published an article about the steering of Wyss's wealth into U.S. politics and policy. As a Swiss citizen, Wyss is legally prohibited from directly donating to U.S. political candidates or committees. Between 1990 and 2006, he donated $119,000 directly to candidates and political committees. The
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
declined to take action against him, and the statute of limitations has passed. ''The Associated Press'' found that Wyss's "influence is still broadly felt through millions of dollars routed through a network of nonprofit groups that invest heavily in the Democratic ecosystem. Such groups don't have to disclose the source of their funding — or many details about how they spend it." One vehicle for Wyss's political donations is the Berger Action Fund, which has donated $339 million to left-leaning nonprofits since 2016. The majority of the Berger Action Fund's $72 million expenditures in 2021 went to building public support for Joe Biden's agenda and thereby "cementing Wyss' status as a Democratic-aligned megadonor."


Personal life

Wyss has been married twice. He divorced his first wife and was widowed by his second wife in 2023. In 2014, Wyss said he carried only a Swiss passport and did not have a U.S.
green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...
. As of 2021, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote, he "has not disclosed publicly whether he holds citizenship or permanent residency" in the U.S. Wyss lives in Wyoming. His daughter, Amy, is also a resident of Wyoming. Wyss is a hiker, skier, and backpacker. He also is a hobby pilot. He is involved in outdoor education programs and he funds efforts to conserve wildlife habitat and public lands in the Rocky Mountains. In 2000, Wyss purchased the Halter Ranch and Vineyard in western Paso Robles, California. The ranch includes an 1,800-acre wildlife reserve and a 281-acre vineyard producing 13 varietals of grapes using methods that are "Sustainability in Practice" certified. The ranch hosts tours and was named "Best Vineyard Experience" by ''
Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
'' in 2015. As of 2023, Wyss ranked 523 on the ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $4.7 billion.Wilkinson, Tara Loader
Switzerland's second richest man makes big donation to Harvard
'' Wealth Bulletin'', 8 October 2008; retrieved 15 October 2008.
He ranks number 218 on the ''Bloomberg'' list of billionaires. On May 6, 2022, Chelsea announced that the club agreed to terms with a new ownership group, of which Wyss is a member. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2022. In May 2025, a 30-year-old former employee filed a lawsuit against Wyss, alleging that he had repeatedly sexually harassed her. In 2013, Wyss paid a former foundation staff member $1.5 million after she accused him of sexual abuse. The former staff member signed a nondisclosure agreement. Wyss characterized the alleged abuse as a relationship between consenting adults that ended badly.


References


External links


The Wyss FoundationWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired EngineeringWyss Campaign for Nature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyss, Hansjorg 1935 births Living people People from Bern People from Wilson, Wyoming ETH Zurich alumni 21st-century philanthropists Harvard Business School alumni Swiss billionaires Swiss businesspeople Swiss philanthropists Swiss emigrants to the United States BlueCo Chelsea F.C. chairmen and investors