Ferdinand Piech net worth

Brief introduction

Ferdinand Karl Piëch (born April 17, 1937, Wina-August5, 2019, Rosenheim, Germany)-Austrian-German car carformusen; Entrepreneurs, designers, managers and majority shareholders. The Chairperson of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board (2002-2015) and MAN (2007-2015). A member of the Porsche automotive dynasty (direct grandchild of the founder of the Ferdinand Porsche Dynasty) – has Austrian citizenship.

Youth

He is the third child in the family of lawyer Anton Piëch (1894-1952) and his wife Louise Porsche (1904-1999). His father managed Volkswagen plants in Wolfsburg during the Second World War. Mother is the daughter of a famous car designer and businessman Ferdinand Porsche. Ferdinand Piëch because it refers to the “female” branch of the descendants of one of the pioneers of the car industry.

In 1962 he graduated from a technical university in Zurich, a diploma thesis was dedicated to the design of the Formula 1 car engine; Piëch is a honoris causa engineering doctor.

Piëch’s undeniable business success included the development of the Volkswagen group, which he achieved thanks to his offensive strategy. In 2009 he signed a contract to combine Porsche and Volkswagen.

Career

In 1963 Ferdinand got a job as an engineer in Porsche in Stuttgart with his uncle. He later became the technical director. In 1968, Ferdinand spent two -thirds of the Porsche Group annual budget for the construction of 25 Porsche 917 Motorsport vehicles, which were designed under his supervision. This amount is needed to take part in the 24 -hour race at Le Mans. The family was very unhappy with Ferdinand’s budget steps. If a car broke down, the company will be on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the Porsche 917 is absolute success and winning the legendary automatic marathon.

Ferdinand began working in Audi in 1972, where he went up to the top of the career ladder and became CEO. At that time, Audi produced middle class cars. However, Ferdinand managed to turn the company into a premium car manufacturer during his work. He actively pursues policies to introduce various innovations of 5-cylinder engine technology, the All-World Quattro system, parts of the aluminum body and other innovations. In 2011, Audi followed Mercedes-Benz in car sales worldwide for premium vehicles for the first time since it was founded.

In 1993 Ferdinand took over Volkswagen management. At that time, the company was in poor condition, posting annual losses that had never happened before more than 1 billion euros. Ferdinand immediately decided to stop almost all leadership, while not reducing simple workers. Because of sustainable work in various directions, the company’s net profit in 2002 was EUR 2.6 billion.

Overall, the Volkswagen market value has increased 15 times in 22 years. Under Piëch, Volkswagen entered the luxury car industry during its activities (in 1998 the company acquired Bugatti, Bentley and Lamborghini). In 2012, this group controlled 12 brands, including truck and bus manufacturers, humans, Scania, Ducati motorbikes and others.

Career spotlight

Leaving the Volkswagen Supervisory Board – Piëch is always very demanding its employees and this is also the reason for the dismissal of many of them. The next victim was his own candidate, Martin Wantai, CEO. The reason why Piëch refused Winterkorn was not revealed. Piëch, however, underestimated his students. He won the love and support of most employees, members of the Supervisory Board and even the Lower Saxony government, in Wolfsburg – the capital of Volkswagen. The five other members of the Supervisory Board voted on April 25, 2015 against Piëch’s request to delete Winterkorn. Piëch and his wife Ursula left the group’s supervisory board. Stock exchanges react to Piëch’s departure by increasing the stock price of 5%.

Since 1984 Ferdinand Piëch has been married in a second marriage to Ursula Piëch (* 1956), a former family caregiver. The family has lived in Salzburg since 2002. They have three children together. Piëch has a total of twelve children from marriage and previous relationships. He likes the Far Eastern culture and Japanese ethics and is an experienced sailor.

The main award

2011 “Man of the Year” – according to American magazine “Automobile Magazine”;
2011 – Title “Most Important Manager Since 1971” (“Magazine Manager”, Germany)
2002 – medal from William Exner, funds with the same name (Austria);
1999 – “20th -century automotive manager” (Global Automotive Election Foundation, USA).

Famous quote

“I’m far from Wantai”
“Volkswagen is a cancer patient who surrenders to himself.”
“I will only guillotine when I’m sure who is it.”
“I am the Chairperson of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board, I am not a savior of Porsche.”
“I always argue that you can live with VW law.”