Clemens Toennies
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Meat processing
- Industry
- Food & Beverage
- Residence
- Rheda-Wiedenbrück
Biography
Clemens Toennies owns 45% of German food industry giant Toennies Lebensmittel, with annual revenue of around $6 billion. His son Maximilian owns 5%.
Operating meat, convenience, ingredients and logistics divisions, the company specializes in pig, sow and beef cattle slaughtering and processing.
Clemens attended butchery college and, in 1971, cofounded the company with his brother, Bernd.
Bernd died in 1994, at age 42. His son, Robert, now owns 50% of the business, which employs more than 15,000 people in facilities in Germany and Denmark.
Clemens fought in court with Robert for several years. In 2017, they settled their dispute over ownership of stakes in the company.
About
For many years, Clemens presided over pro soccer team FC Schalke 04. He resigned from his post as chairman in June 2020.
Pressure on him had been mounting after racist remarks in 2019, poor team performance on the field, and a Covid-19 outbreak at one of his company's slaughterhouses.