Early Life
Thomas Schmidheiny was born on December 17, 1945, in Balgach, Switzerland. He is the son of Max Schmidheiny, who was a successful businessman and the owner of a construction materials empire. The family's business, which his great-grandfather founded in 1912, focused on bricks and cement. Thomas has a brother named Stephan Schmidheiny, who is also a billionaire.
Rise to Success
Thomas Schmidheiny inherited the concrete and cement company Holcim from his father in 1984, while his brother inherited Eternit. He served as Chairman of Holcim, one of the world's leading cement manufacturers, founded by his grand-uncle in 1912, until 2003. Under his leadership, Holcim expanded internationally, becoming a global leader in the construction materials industry. He resigned as chairman due to an insider trading investigation but remained on the board.
Key Business Strategies
Schmidheiny's success is rooted in the cement and construction materials industry. His main source of wealth comes from cement. He was the largest shareholder of LafargeHolcim, retaining a 11.4% stake in the company after the merger between Holcim and Lafarge. Schmidheiny's leadership was characterized by strategic acquisitions and modernization of production processes, contributing to Holcim's growth and market dominance.
Philanthropy
Specific philanthropic amounts are not readily available in the search results. However, the Indian School of Business established the Thomas Schmidheiny chair of family business, showcasing his support for education. He is also known for his personal interests in viticulture and oenology, owning vineyards and wineries in Argentina, Switzerland, and the United States.