The headquarters of his global company is lost behind a Lidl. A sober, two-story concrete building. In the foyer, the representative of a business association chatted with the receptionist. Max Aicher shows what German companies can achieve, says the association woman. “He thinks big. He takes risks.” She is currently planning a hydrogen day: lectures, panel discussions, the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs wants to be there. Everything as always. But she wants something special on stage. She wants Max Aicher. That’s why she’s here.
Max Aicher from Freilassing. Pretty much every car made in Europe contains Aicher steel, including One World Trade Center in New York. Aicher’s companies build bridges, train stations, apartment buildings, recycle scrap, burn and load household waste from Bavaria to Uzbekistan. Over 4,500 people in 40 companies and 18 countries work for the Aicher Group. A few years ago, Max Aicher had it transferred to a foundation, with total assets: over one billion euros. Max Aicher is the only board member of the foundation and for life. He turned 89 this year.
In the elevator going up, the representative nervously tugs at her summer dress. She says: “You don’t meet Mr. Aicher every day.”
There is a saying in Freilassing: Munich has the Oktoberfest, we have Max Aicher. He owns more than a quarter of Freilassing’s building land. He gets involved and has a say – as is the case in many German cities: the city and the billionaire cannot live without each other. That can’t be good for a democracy, can it?
Access to all STERN PLUS content and articles from the print magazine
ad-free
Already registered?
