Karl-Heinz Kipp is the billionaire founder of the Massa chain of German department stores and, having since sold the business whilst keeping the property, has a large property portfolio. In 2010 the Forbes list of the world's richest people ranked him 154th with net wealth of $5bn.
He began his career in 1948 selling clothes and opened his first Massa department store in 1965. He sold the chain in 1986 but kept the stores, which he rents to retailer Metro. Kipp also owns real estate in the US, notably several high-end properties in Manhattan including 950 Third Avenue. In addition, he has four Swiss luxury hotels and resorts including the Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona, the 105-room Carlton Hotel in St Moritz and the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, Switzerland, where he lives with wife, Hannelore.
His son, former Florida resident Ernst-Ludwig who died in 2003 age 53, produced a son, Timo.
His daughter Ursula married Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer and together they produced three sons, Felix (a singer with rock group Hey Negrita), Goetz, and Till, and a daughter, Laura (an Olympic dressage rider).