Theo Müller (January 29, 1940) is a German businessman. He is the head of the dairy company

Müller Müller may refer to: Companies * Müller (company), a German multinational dairy company ** Müller Milk & Ingredients, a UK subsidiary of the German company * Müller (store), a German retail chain * GMD Müller, a Swiss aerial lift manufacturi ...

, which was founded by his grandfather.

Early life

Theo Müller was born in

Aretsried Fischach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Fischach is situated in the "Naturpark Westliche Wälder" south of Augsburg. The village has been established where the two rivers, Schmutter and Neufnach g ...

, 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 ( Culina Group), transportation (Fahrzeugtechnik Aretsried), fruit processing (Muller Naturfarm) and a fish restaurant chain ( Nordsee). 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, which supplies 30% of the UK's fresh milk market, for £280 million. In November 2014, the company agreed to buy

Dairy Crest Saputo Dairy UK, the trading name of Dairy Crest Limited, is a British dairy products company. It was created in 2019 when the Canadian company Saputo Inc bought Dairy Crest. Dairy Crest itself was created in 1981 as a spin-off of the Milk Marke ...

'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 (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. 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. Müller has been accused of being close to

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

or extremist ideology on several occasions. This rumor was first reported by the Munich magazine ''Wiener'' in 1989. However, both Müller and the company have publicly stated that neither are close to any right-wing parties.

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading