List of German entrepreneurs

This is a list of German entrepreneurs, businesspeople of German nationality or with German citizenship.

A–M

Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founder of Berlitz Language Schools
Carl Bertelsmann (1791–1850), founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG
Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), in 1877, co-founder Blohm+Voss, manufacturers of ships
Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), founder of Borgward
August Borsig (1804–1854), founder of Borsig Werke
Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss AG
Max Braun (1883–1967), founder of Braun GmbH, makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances
Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company
Adolph Coors (1847–1929), founder of the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors
Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor, engineer and industrialist; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler AG
Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas
Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of sportwear company Puma
Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830–1916), founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of the chemical company BASF
Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
Günther Fielmann (born 1939), founder of Fielmann
Wilhelm von Finck (1848–1924), co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
Eduard Fresenius (1874–1946), founder of Fresenius
Jakob Fugger the Elder (1368–1469), founder of Fugger bank
Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), co-founder of Goldman Sachs
Max Grundig (1908–1989), founder of Grundig
Franz Haniel (1779–1868), managing director of Franz Haniel & Cie.
Karl Haniel (1877–1944), managing director of Franz Haniel & Cie.
Edmund Heckler (1906–1960), co-founder Heckler & Koch, 1948
Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), founder of Heinkel, manufacturers of airplanes
Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise
Johann Peter Henckels, founder of (Zwilling) J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848–1930), founder of Henkel
Max Herz (1905–1965), co-founder of Tchibo, 1949
Dietmar Hopp (born 1940), co-founder of SAP
August Horch (1868–1951), founder of Audi automobile company in 1909
Helmut Horten (1909–1987), founder of Horten AG
Georg Ferdinand Howaldt (1802–1883), founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
Carolus Magnus Hutschenreuther (1794–1845), founder of Hutschenreuther
Christoph Ingenhoven (1960), founder of christoph ingenhoven architects
Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), founder of Junkers in 1895, manufacturers of airplanes
Rudolph Karstadt (1856–1944), founder of Karstadt
Ernst Keil (1816–1878), founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube
Erich Kellerhals (1939–2017), co-founder of Media Markt
Carl Kellner, founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
Roman Kirsch, founder of Lesara
Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr (1800–1875) founder of Knorr
Georg Krauß (1826–1906), co-founder of Krauss-Maffei, 1838
Theodor Koch (1905–1976), co-founder of Heckler & Koch, 1948
Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp AG
Heinrich Lanz (1838–1905), founder of Heinrich Lanz AG
Henry Lehman (1822–1855), Emanuel Lehman (1827–1907) and Mayer Lehman (1830–1897), German-born bankers, co-founders of Lehman Brothers
Ernst Leitz II (1871–1956), owner of Leitz Camera
Louis Leitz (1846–1918), founder of Leitz
Carl von Linde (1842–1934), founder of The Linde Group
Henry Lomb (1828–1908), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
Friedrich Lürssen (1851–1916), founder of Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships
Joseph Anton von Maffei (1790–1870), founder of Maffei, later 1838 Krauss-Maffei
Wolfgang Marguerre (born 1941), founder of Octapharma
Carl Alexander von Martius (1838–1920), co-founder of Agfa
Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (1859–1955), founder of the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer
Friedrich Jacob Merck (1621–1678), founder of Merck KGaA (Engel-Apotheke in Darmstadt)
George Merck (1867–1926), founder of Merck & Co.
Joseph Mendelssohn (1770–1848), founder of former bank Mendelssohn & Co.
Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1841–1880), co-founder of Agfa
Willy Messerschmitt (1898–1978), founder of Messerschmitt
Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, chocolate company in Brazil
Carl Miele (1869–1938), founder of Miele, manufacturer of domestic appliances
Frederick Miller (born as Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller) (1824–1888), founder of the Miller Brewing Company in 1855

N–Z

Josef Neckermann (1912–1992), founder of the company Neckermann
August Oetker (1862–1918), founder of the company Dr Oetker
Adam Opel (1837–1895), founder of the automobile company Adam Opel AG
Franz Oppenheim (1852–1929), chemist, industrialist and entrepreneur
Salomon Oppenheim (1772–1828), founder of bank Sal. Oppenheim
Ernest Oppenheimer (1880–1957), diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa
Werner Otto (1909–2011), founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, a mail order company
Hasso Plattner (born 1944), co-founder of SAP
Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche
Günther Quandt (1881–1954), industrial, entrepreneur of different companies (today includes BMW AG and Altana (chemicals)
Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW AG
Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of AEG
Paul Reuter (1816–1899), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency
Hans Riegel Sr. (1893–1945), founder of Haribo, the manufacturer of gummi and jelly sweets
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons
Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG
Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), founder of Quelle
Anton Schlecker (born 1944), founder of Schlecker
Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988), founders of Metro AG
Dieter Schwarz (born 1939), owner of Schwarz Gruppe
Alex Seidel (1909–1989), co-founder of Heckler & Koch, 1948
Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high-fidelity products
Georg von Siemens (1839–1901), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of Siemens, the electronics and electrical engineering company
Friedrich Soennecken (1848–1919), founder of Soennecken
J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments
Bruno Steinhoff (born 1937), founder of Steinhoff
Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons
Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), co-founder of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG
August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG
Franz Ströher (c. 1854–1936), in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella AG
Carl Tchilinghiryan (1910–1987), in 1949, co-founder of company Tchibo
Carl von Thieme (1844–1924), founder of Allianz AG, a financial services company
August Thyssen (1842–1926), founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr
Friedrich Thyssen (1804–1877), founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen
Hermann Tietz (1837–1907), founder of Hertie, a department store
Klaus Tschira (1940–2015), co-founder of SAP
Leopold Ullstein (1826–1899), founder of publishing company Ullstein Verlag
Ernst Voss (1842–1920), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturers of ships
Carl Walther (1858–1915), founder of company Carl Walther, manufacturer of guns
Moses Marcus Warburg and Gerson Warburg, co-founder of M. M. Warburg & Co., German bank
Siegmund Warburg, founder of S. G. Warburg & Co., British bank
Claus Wellenreuther (born 1935), co-founder of SAP
Bartholomeus V. Welser (1484–1561), Welser brothers bank
Georg Wertheim (1857–1939), founder of Wertheim, a department store
Aloys Wobben (1952–2021), founder of Enercon
Reinhold Würth (born 1935), company Würth
Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), founder of Carl Zeiss AG, a maker of optical instruments
Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company