Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988) was a German entrepreneur, the co-founder of the retail chain Metro AG.
In 1963, Schmidt-Ruthenbeck founded, together with his brother Ernst Schmidt, the German company Metro AG.
Schmidt-Ruthenbeck was married with Vera Ruthenbeck. His children were Michael Schmidt-Ruthenbeck, Rainer Schmidt-Ruthenbeck,[1] and Viola Schmidt-Ruthenbeck.
His father was Karl Schmidt, who founded in 1923 in Duisburg the company Karl Schmidt OGH.[1] In the 1990s his family founded the Stiftung Mercator,[2] the Mercator Schweiz and the Karl Schmidt Family Foundation.[1]