World’s Oldest Billionaire Dies

Walter Haefner died on June 19 at the age of 101 as the world’s oldest billionaire. According to Forbes magazine, Haefner’s net worth at the time of his death was about $4.3 billion.

Like most successful people, Haefner’s life was unique and fulfilling. He began his career as a entrepreneur in World War II selling wood-gas-powered cars. In 1945, he founded his company Amg Automobil und Motoren AG, a Swiss Car Dealership. This company would eventually grow to become Switzerland’s largest car dealership. In the 1960s he started a computer services firm. In the 1976 and 1978, he purchased a stake in two separate computer companies. In 1978 he purchased a stake in Islandia, a company that manufactures software for computers, and in 1976 he purchased a stake in Wyly, a computer services business. This is particularly strange considering that Haefner remained computer illiterate most of his life. 

See Carolyn Bandel, Walter Haefner, World’s Oldest Billionaire, Dies at 101, Bloomberg, June 27, 2012.

Special thanks to Peter Parlapiano for bringing this article to my attention.