Helmut Horten (8 January 1909 – 30 November 1987) was a German entrepreneur who built up and owned the fourth-largest chain of department stores in Germany, Horten AG. The business practices of Mr. Horten flourished during the Nazi era, when he purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress. His practices are well documented.
Helmut Horten was born on January 8, 1909, in Bonn, Kingdom of Prussia. His father was a judge.
Careeredit
Horten built his vast fortune by forcefully buying Jewish businesses as part of Hitler’s Aryanization process.[1]
Horten was apprenticed in a Düsseldorf department store belonging to Leonhard Tietz before working for the Duisburg department store of the Gebrüder Alsberg (Alsberg brothers) company. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Horten was able to acquire the company from the Jewish owners, Strauß and Lauter, who fled to the United States. He was aided in this transaction by the banker Wilhelm Reinhold of the Commerz- and Disconto-Bank. The bank was to become a partner in the newly formed Horten & Co.
Until 1939, Horten acquired several other department stores and enjoyed a good relationship with the Nazi government despite that his uncle, the (later) Catholic saint Titus Maria Horten died in custody in 1936. Horten was able to acquire the distribution rights to certain goods which were scarce due to the Second World War.
After the Second World War, Horten was interned by the British Army in 1947 in Recklinghausen. Following a hunger strike he was released in 1948. He soon continued with the consolidation and expansion of his company, which he still owned. Horten introduced Germany's first supermarket after a visit to the United States, the copying of this business model expanding the group quickly.
In 1972, Horten sold his majority stake and retired from the business, which controversially lost a great deal of value soon afterwards. In 1994 the chain was bought by Kaufhof Holding AG, merged into the German retail group METRO AG in 1996.[2]
In 1960, Horten met 19-year-old Austrian Heidi Jelinek, a woman 32 years his junior, in a hotel bar in Velden am Wörthersee.[3] The couple married on 23 July 1966 in Düsseldorf-Lohausen and moved to Croglio in the Swiss canton of Ticino at the end of 1968. Horten owned a BAC 1-11 as a private jet, a series of private yachts named after Carinthia, and a villa in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In Duisburg, the centre of his business activities, he made donations to the tennis club, the carnival and the zoo. The Helmut Horten Stiftung promotes medical research.
His widow inherited his $1 billion fortune and lived between homes in Croglio, Lyford Cay, by the Wörthersee in Austria and a penthouse in Vienna. Considered one of the world's 500 richest people by Forbes, she also commissioned and owned one of the world's largest yachts, the Carinthia VII.[4] Due to controversy over the source of the Horten fortune, Christie's committed to contributing a portion of the profits from Heidi Horten's posthumous jewellery sale to Holocaust education and related causes.[5] On 31 August 2023, Christie's cancelled the auction entirely after Jewish charities and organizations refused to accept any monies related to the sale.[6]
^McFall, Caitlin (9 May 2023). "Heiress' $150 million jewelry auction sparks controversy over late husband's profits during Nazi oppression". Fox News. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
^Small, Zachary (2023-08-31). "Christie's Cancels Sale of Jewelry Connected to Nazi-Era Fortune". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
Michael Jungblut (1971). Die Reichen und die Superreichen in Deutschland. Hamburg. pp. 67ff.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Kurt Pritzkoleit (1955). Die neuen Herren. Die Mächtigen in Staat in Wirtschaft. Wien, München u. Basel. pp. 412–428.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Bernt Engelmann; Günter Wallraff (1973). Ihr da oben – wir da unten. Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch. pp. 158ff.
helmut, horten, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 202. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Helmut Horten news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Helmut Horten 8 January 1909 30 November 1987 was a German entrepreneur who built up and owned the fourth largest chain of department stores in Germany Horten AG The business practices of Mr Horten flourished during the Nazi era when he purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress His practices are well documented Helmut HortenBorn8 January 1909Bonn Kingdom of Prussia German EmpireDied30 November 1987 aged 78 Croglio Ticino SwitzerlandOccupationBusinessmanKnown forDepartment stores and supermarketsSpouseHeidi Jelinek m 1966 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editHelmut Horten was born on January 8 1909 in Bonn Kingdom of Prussia His father was a judge Career editHorten built his vast fortune by forcefully buying Jewish businesses as part of Hitler s Aryanization process 1 Horten was apprenticed in a Dusseldorf department store belonging to Leonhard Tietz before working for the Duisburg department store of the Gebruder Alsberg Alsberg brothers company When the Nazis came to power in 1933 Horten was able to acquire the company from the Jewish owners Strauss and Lauter who fled to the United States He was aided in this transaction by the banker Wilhelm Reinhold of the Commerz and Disconto Bank The bank was to become a partner in the newly formed Horten amp Co Until 1939 Horten acquired several other department stores and enjoyed a good relationship with the Nazi government despite that his uncle the later Catholic saint Titus Maria Horten died in custody in 1936 Horten was able to acquire the distribution rights to certain goods which were scarce due to the Second World War After the Second World War Horten was interned by the British Army in 1947 in Recklinghausen Following a hunger strike he was released in 1948 He soon continued with the consolidation and expansion of his company which he still owned Horten introduced Germany s first supermarket after a visit to the United States the copying of this business model expanding the group quickly In 1968 with 25 000 staff and turnover of the equivalent of 1 billion in West German marks he floated the group on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange In 1972 Horten sold his majority stake and retired from the business which controversially lost a great deal of value soon afterwards In 1994 the chain was bought by Kaufhof Holding AG merged into the German retail group METRO AG in 1996 2 Personal life edit nbsp Carinthia VII the personal yacht of Heidi Horten In 1960 Horten met 19 year old Austrian Heidi Jelinek a woman 32 years his junior in a hotel bar in Velden am Worthersee 3 The couple married on 23 July 1966 in Dusseldorf Lohausen and moved to Croglio in the Swiss canton of Ticino at the end of 1968 Horten owned a BAC 1 11 as a private jet a series of private yachts named after Carinthia and a villa in Mulheim an der Ruhr In Duisburg the centre of his business activities he made donations to the tennis club the carnival and the zoo The Helmut Horten Stiftung promotes medical research His widow inherited his 1 billion fortune and lived between homes in Croglio Lyford Cay by the Worthersee in Austria and a penthouse in Vienna Considered one of the world s 500 richest people by Forbes she also commissioned and owned one of the world s largest yachts the Carinthia VII 4 Due to controversy over the source of the Horten fortune Christie s committed to contributing a portion of the profits from Heidi Horten s posthumous jewellery sale to Holocaust education and related causes 5 On 31 August 2023 Christie s cancelled the auction entirely after Jewish charities and organizations refused to accept any monies related to the sale 6 References edit https www euronews com 2023 09 01 christies cancels sale of nazi heiress jewels Metro AG History Kronsteiner Olga 12 June 2022 Milliardarin Heidi Goess Horten gestorben Billionaire Heidi Goess Horten died Der Standard in German Heidi Horten Forbes McFall Caitlin 9 May 2023 Heiress 150 million jewelry auction sparks controversy over late husband s profits during Nazi oppression Fox News Retrieved 30 May 2023 Small Zachary 2023 08 31 Christie s Cancels Sale of Jewelry Connected to Nazi Era Fortune The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2023 09 14 Michael Jungblut 1971 Die Reichen und die Superreichen in Deutschland Hamburg pp 67ff a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Kurt Pritzkoleit 1955 Die neuen Herren Die Machtigen in Staat in Wirtschaft Wien Munchen u Basel pp 412 428 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Bernt Engelmann Gunter Wallraff 1973 Ihr da oben wir da unten Koln Kiepenheuer amp Witsch pp 158ff Josef Niesen Bonner Personenlexikon Bonn Bouvier 2007 ISBN 978 3 416 03159 2 External links editHelmut Horten Stiftung Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helmut Horten amp oldid 1218579596, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
