Martin Viessmann (born 1953/54) is a German

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 ...

businessman, CEO of Viessmann Group, a

heating system A heating system is a mechanism for maintaining temperatures at an acceptable level; by using thermal energy within a home, office, or other dwelling. Often part of an HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system. A heating system may be a ...

s manufacturer headquartered in Allendorf, Germany.

Early life

Martin Viessmann is the son of Hans Viessmann and the grandson of Johann Viessmann, who founded Viessmann Group in 1917. He has a diploma from the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

Career

Viessmann is CEO of the Viessmann Group. The

Manager Magazin ''Manager Magazin'' (stylized as ''manager magazin'') is a German monthly business magazine focusing on business, finance and management based in Hamburg, Germany. History and profile ''Manager Magazin'' was first published on 1 November 1971. ...

listed Viessmann in 51st place on its list of the ''500 richest Germans'' in 2013, with an estimated fortune at 2.15 billion euro (2012: 1.95 billion euro). According to the 2021

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

list, Viessmann's fortune is around $1.8 billion. This puts him in 1750th place on the Forbes list of the world's richest people.

Philanthropy

In 2012, Greg Kleinheinz was appointed as the first Viessmann Endowed Chair in Sustainable Technology at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, created with an endowment from Viessmann and his wife Annette.

Honours and awards

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

: 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the

Federal Republic of 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 south ...

, 2004 *Energy Globe Award for Sustainability in the "Air" category, 2012 *Greentech Manager of the Year, 2013 *

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German language, German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Hand ...

Hall of Fame der Familienunternehmen, 2020

Personal life

Viessmann and his wife Annette have two children, Katharina and Maximilian, and live in Allendorf, Germany.

References

Living people German billionaires Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1950s births 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesspeople {{Germany-business-bio-stub