Werner Otto originally founded the family’s retail empire as a mail-order business in 1949 in Hamburg. The family’s holding company, Otto GmbH & Co. KG, now controls one of the largest retail businesses in the world, with 123 companies operating in more than 30 countries.
In 1981, Werner’s son, Michael Otto, was appointed Chairman of the Otto Group’s Executive Board, a position he would hold for 26 years. In 2007, Michael Otto moved to head of the company’s supervisory board. Michael’s brother, Alexander Otto, is an Otto Group shareholder and CEO, with a majority stake of commercial shopping centre real estate firm ECE Group. Michael and Alexander’s stepmother Maren and her daughter Katharina share a 14 per cent stake with Alexander in Paramount Group, which is involved with ownership and management of office properties in the United States. In 2015, representing the Otto family’s third generation, Benjamin Otto, Michael’s son, became a managing partner of the Otto Group.
The Otto family owns a 75 per cent stake of the company they founded. In addition, they own more than a 50 per cent share of home furnishings chain Crate & Barrel. Michael Otto is also well-known for his environmental philanthropy and has an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion.
