Klaus Johann Jacobs (3 December 1936 – 11 September 2008) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The ...

in the coffee and chocolate industry, with

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

citizenship.

Biography

Early life an education

He was born on 3 December 1936 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Jacobs attended the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

and later Stanford University.

Career

He started his career in the global coffee and chocolates industries. * In 1962, he became Director of Purchasing and Marketing for the Jacobs AG coffee business. * In 1972 he became General Manager of the company. * In 1982, the company merged with

Interfood Toblerone ( , ) is a Swiss chocolate brand produced in Bern. Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape, a series of joined triangular prisms and lettering engraved in the chocolate. Since 2012, the brand has been owned by US company Monde ...

to create

Jacobs Suchard AG Jacobs () is a brand of coffee that traces its beginnings to 1895 in Germany by (1869 in , Bremen – 1958 in Bremen) and is today marketed in Europe by JDE Peet's. Major markets Major markets are Austria, the Baltic countries, North Macedon ...

, Europe's number one chocolate and coffee business. * In 1987, Jacobs expanded his business in North America with acquisition of

Brach's Brach's () is a candy and sweets brand of Ferrara Candy Company. History In 1904, Emil J. Brach invested his $1,000 life savings in a storefront candy store. He named it "Brach's Palace of Sweets" and it was located at the corner of North Avenu ...

. * In 1990, when most of the consumer-oriented elements of Jacobs Suchard were sold to

Philip Morris Phil(l)ip or Phil Morris may refer to: Companies *Altria, a conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the tobacconist **Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group **Philip Morris Inter ...

, Jacobs created with Brach's and non-consumer businesses of Jacobs Suchard a company which is now known as

Barry Callebaut Barry Callebaut is a Belgian-Swiss cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, with an average annual production of 2.3 million tonnes of cocoa & chocolate (fiscal year 2021/2022). It was created in 1996 through the merging of the Belgian ...

. Barry Callebaut is today the world's largest raw chocolate producer. * In 1991, Jacobs became also involved with the human resource services industry with the acquisition of Adia Personnel Services where he led the company to a Global

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

Company following the merger with Ecco in 1996 to form

Adecco The Adecco Group, is a Swiss-French company based in Zurich, Switzerland, and is the world's second largest Human Resources provider and temporary staffing firm, and a Fortune Global 500 company. They directly employ 700,000 people a day, a ...

Philanthropy

The Jacobs Foundation was established by Klaus J. Jacobs in December, 1988, in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2001, the founder surrendered his entire share of the

Jacobs Holding Jacobs Holding AG is an investment firm based in Zürich founded in 1994 by Klaus Johann Jacobs which developed from Jacobs Suchard AG. Following the sale of 10.1% of Adecco The Adecco Group, is a Swiss-French company based in Zurich, Swit ...

AG to the Jacobs Foundation, with an effective value of CHF 1.5 billion (31.12.08 CHF 2.3 billion). The Jacobs Foundation's goal is to contribute to Productive Youth Development by bringing together basic research, application and intervention projects and through dialogue and network building. The Jacobs Foundation supports research and projects worldwide. Klaus J. Jacobs donated

EUR The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

200 million to the

Jacobs University Bremen Constructor University is an international, private, residential research university located in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. It offers study programs in engineering, humanities, natural and social sciences, in which students can acquire bachelor' ...

in 2006.

Death

He died on 11 September 2008 in

Küsnacht Küsnacht is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. History Küsnacht is first mentioned in 1188 as ''de Cussenacho''. Earliest findings of settlement date back to the stone age. There are also findin ...

, Switzerland.

Memberships

World Scout Foundation The World Scout Foundation (WSF) is an international, non-profit institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. Its mission is to develop World Scouting by the provision of financial and other support through the World Organization of the Scout Movement ...

*President of the Friends of the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern (pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of S ...

National Park from 1996-1998 *Board of Directors of the Zurich Opera House since 2003 *Board of the Association of the Friends of Bayreuth

Decorations and awards

* 2005: Honorary doctor of the Faculty of Psychology of the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universitie ...

* 2005: Education Award of the College of Education Zurich for educational and youth projects * 16 April 2008: Bremen Gold Medal of Honour for services rendered to the benefit of the city of Bremen * 2008: Leibniz Medal of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences for his contributions to the advancement of science * 1999:

Silver World Award The Silver World Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on an international basis. Recipients must be a citizen of a country with a Scouting pr ...

of the Boy Scouts of America * 2005-2008:

Bronze Wolf Award The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

of the World Scout Committee * 1991:

Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

* 2000:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

Klaus J. Jacobs Awards

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award honours outstanding achievement in child and youth development and the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award for positive development of children and youth are awarded annually in memory of Jacobs. The first award ceremony took place on 3 December 2009. The awards are given by the Jacobs Foundation of Zurich.

Background

The prizes are given to honour outstanding achievements in research and practice that make a significant contribution to young people’s success in life and development.

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Award recognises academic research of significant social relevance for child and youth development. Additionally, research findings from the interdisciplinary projects thus honoured should be suited to active practical implementation. The prize money for the award comes to one million Swiss Francs, which can be used for an academic project chosen by the recipient. The award winner is chosen by a jury of internationally respected researchers: Albert Bandura (Stanford University, USA), Monique Boekaerts (Leiden University, the Netherlands), Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (Columbia University, USA), Anne C. Petersen Michigan University, USA), Meinrad Paul Perrez (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland), Rainer K. Silbereisen (Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Germany) and William Julius Wilson (Harvard University, USA).

The Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award

The Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Award is given for exceptional engagement by an institution or individual whose practical work makes real use of innovative ideas for the positive development of children and youth. The prize money amounts to 200,000 Swiss Francs which can be used for a project chosen by the recipient. The award winner of the Best Practice Award is chosen by the board of the Jacobs Foundation.

References

External links

Jacobs Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Klaus Johan 1936 births 2008 deaths Businesspeople from Bremen University of Hamburg alumni Businesspeople in the drink industry Stanford University alumni Swiss chocolatiers Swiss billionaires German expatriates in Switzerland Businesspeople in coffee Deaths from cancer in Switzerland Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class