The Merckle family is best known for being the face behind Phoenix Pharmahandel, Germany’s largest pharmaceutical wholesaler and one of the largest in Europe. Despite being formally launched in 1994 by founder Adolf Merckle, the family’s roots in the industry trace back two generations before, when his grandfather, also named Adolf, started his chemical wholesaling company in 1881. The younger Adolf Merckle married Ruth Holland, an heiress to the Ulm cement dynasty. Phoenix Pharmahandel would not be his first foray into the industry. In 1973, he launched Ratiopharm, which held the distinction of being Europe’s first producer of generic pharmaceuticals. Following Adolf’s suicide in 2009, his son Ludwig Merckle took over as head of the group. With the family empire mired in substantial debt, Ludwig chose a strategy of consolidation to right the ship. This included selling off Ratiopharm and a majority share of his mother’s cement company. In 2017, The INTES Family Business Academy named Ludwig Merckle “Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year” for the swift and direct action he took to keep the family business afloat. As of 2015, Forbeslisted Ludwig Merckle’s personal net worth at $4.5 billion.
