Götz Werner

Götz Wolfgang Werner (5 February 1944 – 8 February 2022) was a German billionaire businessman and founder of the dm-drogerie markt retail store chain. He was also known as an advocate of universal basic income (UBI).

In 2013, Manager Magazin estimated his net worth to be around €1.1 billion, making him the 109th-richest German.

Career
In 1973, Werner co-founded his first drugstore, dm-drogerie markt, a German drugstore chain, in Karlsruhe. By 1978, there were more than 100 branches in Germany. Later he was member of the advisory board of dm. In 1976, Werner expanded into the Austrian market. He led the company for 35 years. From October 2003 till September 2010, he was the head of the Cross-Department Group for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Till 2018 he was president of the EHI Retail Institute (EHI).

Inspired by Rudolf Steiner's teachings of anthroposophy, Werner was one of the most influential advocates of basic income in Germany (1000 Euros for everyone ). He founded the initiative Unternimm die Zukunft, or Become an entrepreneur of the future.

Personal life and death
Werner was married twice and had seven children. He died in Stuttgart on 8 February 2022, at the age of 78.