Germany's richest man takes on Big Tech
Dieter Schwarz made his fortune from supermarkets, becoming Germany's wealthiest person. Now he wants to take on Google, Microsoft and Amazon and an entire region
Dieter Schwarz made his fortune from supermarkets, becoming Germany's wealthiest person. Now he wants to take on Google, Microsoft and Amazon and an entire region stands to benefit. When Bernd Wagner walks through his new company's headquarters, he can barely contain his enthusiasm. He starts rattling off figures like "seven times as much steel as was used to build the Eiffel Tower" or "cables stretching all the way to Naples." Wagner is responsible for cloud business and sales at Schwarz Digits. All that steel and cabling has gone into the new head office, which will officially open on July 21, 2026. 'We are here to say,' says Bernd Wagner, head of sales and cloud business at Schwarz Digits Image: Nicolas Martin/DW The campus, designed for 3,500 employees and complete with a daycare center, restaurant and fitness facilities, is reminiscent of the headquarters of Amazon, Apple, or Google. Perched on a hillside, five multi-story curved glass buildings in a honeycomb arrangement surround a small pond at the center of the so-called "Schwarz Digits Campus," with plenty of greenery and shaded benches. "This is a statement," says Wagner. "We don't have to hide from Google or anyone else." From Supermarkets to Digitalization The new offices, however, are not located in California, but in Bad Friedrichshall — a small town in southern Germany. It is not far from Heilbronn, the hometown of Wagner's boss, who is arguably Germany's wealthiest individual. Dieter Schwarz, now 86 years old. It was from Heilbronn that he built his supermarket empire. Now, more than 600,000 people worldwide work for companies under the Schwarz Group umbrella. The conglomerate grew large primarily through its Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains. But because the Schwarz Group prefers to keep everything in house, it has expanded in all directions: food production, waste management, recycling — and now digitalization. Last year, the Schwarz Group generated nearly €185 billion (€162 billion) in revenue, more than SAP, Mercedes, or Bayer. In Germany, only the automaker Volkswagen made more money than Schwarz.
The Schwarz Group has long had a reputation for secrecy. Its founder is rarely discussed publicly. To this day, hardly any photographs of Schwarz exist. Reportedly, he can walk freely around Heilbronn without being recognized. Betting on Germany as a business location Now the Schwarz Group is making headlines with a new story — one about digital independence and Germany as a hub for innovation. "If you're not at the table, you end up on the menu," says Wagner from his air-conditioned office. Schwarz Digits has spent recent years primarily managing the IT infrastructure of some 14,500 supermarkets worldwide. Now, the company is now offering its cloud and security solutions to businesses and government agencies as well. The goal, says Wagner, is to ensure that Germany and Europe regain their seat at the table and are no longer entirely dependent on technology from the United States or China: "We want to restore Europe's ability to act." The Experimenta has turned the city of Heilbronn into a knowledge hub Image: Nicolas Martin/DW It is a strategy that is clearly in tune with the times. The company is currently winning one major contract after another. Its clients and partners include the Dutch government, various German ministries, and the German Football Association (DFB). In the Spreewald region, about an hour's drive south of Berlin, Schwarz Digits is building a data center. At €11 billion, it represents the single largest investment in the company's history. How much the new headquarters in Bad Friedrichshall cost remains undisclosed. What is clear is that the facility is intended to attract and retain IT talent. The message is straightforward: Why move to the expensive Silicon Valley when you can steer the future right here in southern Germany? Heilbronn transforms into a knowledge city Billionaire Schwarz learned early that success depends on people, talent and education. The Dieter Schwarz Foundation has been active since 1999, with a focus on education, science, research and entrepreneurship. Anyone strolling through Heilbronn can see how the talents of tomorrow are being cultivated here.
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