#34 of 100 · Luxury & retail

Dieter Schwarz

Retail

Net worth

$57.6B

Forbes Real-Time · as of Sep 24, 2026

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Latest moves

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Recent SEC filings

This person doesn't file with the SEC.

Footprint

Companies

Schwarz Gruppe (Schwarz Group)Owner / de facto head · Controlled via foundation… · as of 2025

Role: Owner / de facto head (returned 2021); operational CEO Gerd Chrzanowski. Revenue EUR 185.6bn FY2025; ~604,000 employees
Stake: Controlled via foundation structure (capital held by Dieter Schwarz foundations)
Stake as of: 2025

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Lidl (Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG)Founder of first Lidl store

Role: Founder of first Lidl store (1973); part of Schwarz Gruppe; ~12,000 stores

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Kaufland (Kaufland Stiftung & Co. KG)Part of Schwarz Gruppe

Role: Part of Schwarz Gruppe; ~1,600 branches

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Schwarz ProduktionPrivate-label food/beverage…

Role: Private-label food/beverage manufacturing and bottle recycling for Lidl/Kaufland

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PreZero (PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG)Waste management/recycling arm

Role: Waste management/recycling arm; revenue EUR 3.34bn (2024/25), 460+ sites in 9 European countries

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Schwarz Digits (incl. STACKIT cloud, XM Cyber)IT/cloud division founded 2023

Role: IT/cloud division founded 2023; ~EUR 2.2bn revenue, 8,000 staff (2025/26)

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XM Cyber (Israel)Cybersecurity firm acquired by Schwarz… · as of 2021

Role: Cybersecurity firm acquired by Schwarz in 2021
Stake as of: 2021

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Stakes

Aleph Alpha (German AI) - Schwarz Gruppe, Dieter Schwarz Stiftung and IPAI co-led Nov 2023 round; being merged into Cohere (2026)Minority · as of Nov 2023

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Cohere (Canadian AI) - Schwarz Gruppe to invest ~$600M as part of Cohere-Aleph Alpha combinationas of Sep 2026

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Investment vehicles

Dieter Schwarz Stiftung gGmbHtrust

Type: trust
Notes: Non-profit GmbH founded Nov 1999 in Neckarsulm; Schwarz transferred Lidl/Kaufland shares into the foundation structure; funded via Schwarz Beteiligungs GmbH.

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Schwarz Beteiligungs GmbHholding co

Type: holding co
Notes: Holds the parent-company stakes in Lidl and Kaufland and finances the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung (per de.wikipedia).

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Dieter Schwarz Stiftung fuer Kunst & Kultur / fuer Wissenschaft und Forschung (via Swiss holdings Rosint GmbH, Zeha GmbH)trust

Type: trust
Notes: Capital-holding foundation structure as described on de.wikipedia; not verified in registry filings.

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Private deals

Cohere to combine with Aleph Alpha (talks announced Apr 10, 2026; deal Apr 24; definitive agreement Sep 16, 2026)…Sep 2026

In full: Cohere to combine with Aleph Alpha (talks announced Apr 10, 2026; deal Apr 24; definitive agreement Sep 16, 2026); Schwarz Gruppe investing ~$600M in Cohere; combined value reportedly ~$20B; subject to regulatory approvals.
Date: 2026-09-16

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Schwarz Digits EUR 11bn AI/cloud data center investment in Luebbenau, Brandenburg (~200 MW, operational target 2027)Nov 2025

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Planned Schwarz data center at Dummerstorf near Rostock (240 MW by 2033, expandable to 1 GW by 2045)2025-2026

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STACKIT selected by European Commission for sovereign-cloud initiative (~EUR 180M over 6 years); EUR 250M German…2025-2026

In full: STACKIT selected by European Commission for sovereign-cloud initiative (~EUR 180M over 6 years); EUR 250M German federal AI-platform infrastructure contract
Date: 2025-2026

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PreZero acquired Portuguese waste company Tratris2026

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Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) Heilbronn, ~EUR 3bn commitment; groundbreaking Oct 2025Oct 2025

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Real estate

Bad Friedrichshall, Baden-Wuerttemberg, GermanySchwarz Digits campus HQ (opened July… · Jul 2026

Type: Schwarz Digits campus HQ (opened July 2026, ~5,500 employees)
Date: 2026-07
Via: Schwarz Digits

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Luebbenau, Brandenburg, GermanyAI data center site (EUR 11bn project) · $11B · Nov 2025

Type: AI data center site (EUR 11bn project)
Price: 11000000000
Date: 2025-11
Via: Schwarz Digits

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Heilbronn, GermanyInnovation Park AI (IPAI) campus (~EUR… · $3B · Oct 2025

Type: Innovation Park AI (IPAI) campus (~EUR 3bn)
Price: 3000000000
Date: 2025-10
Via: Schwarz Gruppe / Dieter Schwarz Stiftung

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Heilbronn, GermanyBildungscampus Heilbronn (education… · 2011+

Type: Bildungscampus Heilbronn (education campus incl. TUM Campus Heilbronn, opened 2011)
Date: 2011+
Via: Dieter Schwarz Stiftung

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Legal & regulatory

Lidl Northern Ireland pub-licence dispute: High Court dismissed rival supermarkets' challenge; Lidl's 'The Middle Ale'…

In full: Lidl Northern Ireland pub-licence dispute: High Court dismissed rival supermarkets' challenge; Lidl's 'The Middle Ale' pub in East Belfast opened June 2026.

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STACKIT government/EU contracts: European Commission sovereign cloud selection (~EUR 180M) and EUR 250M German federal…

In full: STACKIT government/EU contracts: European Commission sovereign cloud selection (~EUR 180M) and EUR 250M German federal AI-platform contract.

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Criticism over foundation's influence on Baden-Wuerttemberg higher-education policy via campus funding and endowed…

In full: Criticism over foundation's influence on Baden-Wuerttemberg higher-education policy via campus funding and endowed professorships.

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PreZero waste-collection service failures in Baden-Wuerttemberg (since spring 2025) and Saarland (since mid-2023).

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Cohere-Aleph Alpha merger pending regulatory approvals (2026).

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Giving

Dieter Schwarz Stiftung gGmbH (Bildungscampus Heilbronn, TUM Campus Heilbronn, Experimenta, IPAI, endowed chairs incl. ETH Zurich)

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Research gaps: Web search budget ran out, so most entries rely on Wikipedia (en/de) rather than primary Schwarz Group releases or Handelsregister filings. Exact capital/voting split between the foundation and Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG was not verified. No personal real estate, trophies or sports assets found (corporate/foundation projects listed instead). No U.S. SEC presence. Schwarz FY2025/26 results date not found. Aleph Alpha/Cohere deal details come from Wikipedia summaries of press reports.

What to watch

Regulatory approvals and closing of Cohere-Aleph Alpha combination with ~$600M Schwarz investmentlate 2026

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Lidl openings in Andorra (end 2026) and Western Balkans (late 2026/early 2027)late 2026

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Construction of Luebbenau AI data center (operational target 2027)2027

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STACKIT sovereign-cloud contracts with EU Commission and German government

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IPAI Heilbronn build-out after Oct 2025 groundbreaking

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