At the age of 103, businessman Werner Otto, who went down in history as the man who invented catalog trading, passed away. The company he founded in 1949 Otto GmbH is one of the largest trading companies in the world.
Werner Otto was born in 1909. His father was a businessman, though not very successful. However, he still managed to provide education for his son. In 1934, Werner was sentenced to two years for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Toward the end of World War II, he was drafted into the army and was wounded in the head. After the end of the war, he settled in Hamburg, where he lived for the rest of his life. He had five children from three marriages.
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| Otto Werner on his 100th birthday |
In 1949, after the failure of the shoe business, he came up with the idea of a catalog trade and founded Otto GmbH. He became one of those people thanks to whom the German economy has reached its current level.
The last years of his life, the businessman, who was among the richest Germans, lived in Hamburg. Having delegated the business to his eldest son Michael, he was engaged in philanthropic activities. Thanks to his multimillion-dollar financial investments, orphanages and medical centers for children with cancer were built.
For services to the country, Werner Otto was awarded a prestigious award from the German government.
