Reinhard Pöllath (born January 15, 1948) is a German businessman and lawyer. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of

Beiersdorf Beiersdorf AG is a German multinational company that manufactures and retails personal-care products and pressure-sensitive adhesives. Its brands include Elastoplast, Eucerin (makers of Aquaphor), Labello, La Prairie, Nivea, Tesa SE (Tesa ...

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Early life and education

Reinhard Pöllath was born in 1948. He grew up in

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a '' Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle ...

, where his family has run a

joinery Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives ...

since the 17th century. He graduated from high school in

Marktredwitz Marktredwitz () is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany, close to the Czech border. It is situated 22 km west of Cheb, 50 km east of Bayreuth and 50 km south of Hof/Saale. Marktredwitz station is at the juncti ...

in 1967. After completing his military service, he studied law from 1969 to 1973 at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on ...

and the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...

. Subsequently, he held a scholarship from the

Studienstiftung The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

, with whose support he graduated with a master's degree from the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1974. In 2006, he obtained a doctorate degree.

Career

In 1977, he was admitted as a lawyer and worked first as a lawyer in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. Until 1993, he was a partner at a law firm in Munich and until 1997, managing director of a real estate and hotel company. In 1997, together with six partners, he started the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

P+P Pöllath + Partners. He specialized in advising family businesses, corporate acquisitions, tax law, foundations and trusts. Pöllath has advised different recognized clients, like the Harald Quandt family. In 2012, the law firm had offices in Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt. Pöllath became known as an advisor to the Herz family, which appointed him interim chief executive officer of Tchibo Holding AG, in 2002. One year later, he was nominated as chairman of the supervisory board. In 2007, he took over management of Brost Holding, which held 50 percent of the

Funke Mediengruppe Funke Mediengruppe (formerly ''WAZ-Mediengruppe'') is Germany's third largest newspaper and magazine publisher with a total of over 500 publications in eight countries. WAZ-Mediengruppe is privately held by the Funke family and is headquartered i ...

Other affiliations

Pöllath is an Honorary Professor at the University of Münster's Institute of tax law. He sits on the Boards of

SinnerSchrader SinnerSchrader was a digital agency with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company was founded in 1996 and was listed on the stock market from 1999. Since 2017, SinnerSchrader has been part of Accenture. The company was merged with a few oth ...

, Woolworth GmbH, BonVenture, TA Triumph-Adler, and Beiersdorf. He was chairman of the board of

Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by designe ...

. Pöllath is a member of the council for the

Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are annual scientific conferences held in Lindau, Bavaria, Germany, since 1951. Their aim is to bring together Nobel laureates and young scientists to foster scientific exchange between different generations, ...

Engelhorn tax affair

In 2013, Pöllath was put into investigative custody for nine days, following suspicions of aiding in the evasion of gift taxes in the amount of up to 440 million Euro by the pharmaceutical billionaire

Curt Engelhorn Curt Rudolf Glover Engelhorn (25 May 1926 – 13 October 2016) was a German billionaire heir and businessman, the great-grandson of Friedrich Engelhorn, the founder of the chemical company BASF. Education Engelhorn graduated with a bachelor's ...

, whose assets Pöllath managed. The tax rebate negotiated with the authorities by the Engelhorn family is said to amount to around 135 million Euro.

Awards

The asteroid 7448 Pöllath, which was discovered on the day before his birth, was named after him. Pöllath was awarded the

Order 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 ...

, first class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollath, Reinhard Living people 1948 births University of Regensburg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Harvard University alumni Academic staff of the University of Münster Businesspeople from Bavaria Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Beiersdorf people