Karl-Heinz Kipp


Karl-Heinz Kipp was a German billionaire, and founder of the Massa department store chain. He sold the business but kept the property, and had a large property portfolio. In 2017, Forbes estimated his net wealth at $4.9 billion.

Career

Kipp began his career in 1948 selling clothes and opened his first Massa department store in 1965. The Massa stores were introduced on the German stock market in 1986. In 1987 Kipp sold his remaining shares but he kept the real estate of the stores, which he rented to the retailer Metro AG.
Kipp owned real estate in the U.S., including 950 Third Avenue in Manhattan. In addition, he owned five Swiss hotels and resorts in his "Tschuggen Hotel Group", including the Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona, the Carlton Hotel in St Moritz and the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa.

Personal life

Kipp and his wife, Hannelore resided in Arosa, Switzerland.
His son, former Florida resident Ernst-Ludwig Kipp, died in 2003, leaving behind his seven children. His daughter Ursula married Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer and together they have three sons, Felix, Goetz, and Till, and a daughter, Laura, an Olympic dressage rider.