Rudolf Oetker

Rudolf August Oetker (20 September 1916 – 16 January 2007) was a German entrepreneur and former member of the Nazi Party, who became a billionaire running his private food company Oetker-Gruppe, founded by his grandfather August Oetker.

Oetker served and volunteered in the Waffen-SS from 1941 to 1944. Rudolf Oetker became the president of his family-run business in 1944. The business was inherited from his grandfather, August Oetker, who invented a popular mixture of baking powder.

Rudolf August Oetker elevated the company to a household name in Germany today. The Oetker-Gruppe was one of the symbols of the post-World War II recovery effort in the country.  Oetker retired as executive director in 1981, turning the position over to his son August Oetker (jr.). In 2006, his net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$8.0 billion. 

Oetker married three times and had eight children. His son Richard became CEO in 2010.

In 2014, the Oetker business empire was valued at $12 billion, and each of his eight children inherited an equal share of 12.5%, or about $1.5 billion: