Schwarz vs Griffin

Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) and Citadel.

The differences

Forbes puts Dieter Schwarz about $0.8B ahead of Ken Griffin.Forbes figures from 17 Sep 2026 and 7 Oct 2026.
Dieter Schwarz: inherited and grew it. Ken Griffin: founded it.
Dieter Schwarz is about 29 years older than Ken Griffin.
Dieter Schwarz is from Germany; Ken Griffin is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Schwarz

Griffin

Net worth, Forbes: $58.2BForbes, 17 Sep 2026; $57.4BForbes, 7 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $46.7BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026; $57.5BBloomberg, 13 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 33Real-Time list, 6 Jun 2026; No. 33Real-Time list, 30 Sep 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Inherited and grew itForbes: he inherited the company from his father Josef, opened the first Lidl store in 1973, became CEO in 1977 and built Schwarz Group into Europe's largest retailer; Founded itFounded Citadel in 1990, a year after graduating; established Citadel Securities with partners in 2002
Main source: Control of Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland, PreZero)Bloomberg: 'The majority of Dieter Schwarz's fortune derives from his control of Schwarz Group'; Citadel hedge fund business and Citadel SecuritiesBloomberg: 'The bulk of Ken Griffin's fortune is derived from the money he's made managing Citadel Advisors'
Companies: Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland)Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland): Honorary board member with veto power; Citadel, Citadel SecuritiesCitadel: Founder, CEO and co-chief investment officer; Citadel Securities: Founder and non-executive chairman
Biggest stake: Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland)Stake not stated; Citadel85% owned

Born: 1939Heilbronn, Germany; 15 Oct 1968Florida, United States
Country: GermanyLives in Neckarsulm, Germany; United StatesLives in Miami, Florida, United States
Education: Not statedJoined his father's company after finishing high school; Bachelor's degreeAB with honors in economics, Harvard College (1989)
Parents: His father Josef Schwarz was a partner in the fruit wholesaler Lidl & Co.; Father was a General Electric engineer on the space program; mother studied childhood education; his grandmother paid his Harvard tuition from her savings

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Dieter Schwarz StiftungFunds education and research in Heilbronn (Bildungscampus, experimenta, IPAI); it also holds the Lidl and Kaufland shares; Griffin CatalystHis civic engagement and philanthropy initiative
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $2.5BForbes, 9 Feb 2026. Forbes' lifetime giving estimate; Griffin Catalyst says he has donated more than $5.7 billion

Role now: On the boardHonorary board member of Schwarz Group's operating company; no longer general partner since December 2021; Runs the companyFounder, CEO and co-CIO of Citadel; founder and non-executive chairman of Citadel Securities
Successor: Gerd Chrzanowski, general partner of Schwarz Group since 1 December 2021A management handover, not an ownership heir; no Schwarz family member is in the group's named executive roster; None namedCitadel's leadership page lists Pablo Salame as co-CIO; no CEO successor and no family members in executive roles
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: None found; None found