| Michael Schmidt-Ruthenbeck | |
| Nationality: | German |
| Occupation: | 16% owner, Metro AG |
| Relatives: | Rainer Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (brother) |
Michael Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (born 1942) is a German billionaire businessman, together with his brother Rainer, owner of 16% of the retail group Metro AG.
He is the son of Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck and Vera Ruthenbeck. His brother is Rainer Schmidt-Ruthenbeck and his sister is Viola Schmidt-Ruthenbeck.
In the 1990s his family founded the Stiftung Mercator,[1] the Mercator Schweiz and the Karl Schmidt Family Foundation.[2]
In February 2006 Michael ousted Reiner from the managing director position at Metro AG. Sometime in 2006 (likely September) the family holding company sold its share of Metro AG from 18.54% to 13.15%.[3]
In August 2007 Otto Beisheim was the victim of a boardroom coup when the Haniel family interest acquired more capital than they had already in Metro AG; together with the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family holding they held a majority share and Beisheim was frozen out of control.[4]
Schmidt-Ruthenbeck and Metro AG were investigated by the Competition Bureau in 2008 for some reason of concentration (probably some sort of merger with Franz Haniel & Cie.) but the Bureau decided not to proceed.[5]
In September 2011, Haniel owned 34 percent of Metro AG; the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family owned 16%. CEO Eckhard Cordes feared for his job.[6]
On the Forbes 2016 list of the world's billionaires, he and his brother were ranked #722 with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.[7]
In 2019 it was reported that Cambiata Schweiz was owned by Michael Schmidt-Ruthenbeck and his family.[8]
In 2020 it was revealed that the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck holdings in Metro AG were controlled via the Meridian Foundation mechanism. The family was then engaged is a boardroom tussle with the Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky, who on 21 January controlled 29.99% of the shares. Another significant holding was that of the Beisheim Group.[9]
In October 2022 the Schmidt-Ruthenbeck family was the object of a curiosity seeker. Apparently Michael had invested in a solar PV plant.[10]
He lives in Duisburg, Germany.