Bloomberg Billionaires Index

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# 435 Alexander Otto $5.48B

Random fact: Father and Otto Group founder, Werner, lived until age 102.

Overview

Otto is the chief executive officer of ECE, a closely held manager of about 200 shopping centers. He owns the Hamburg-based business, and two North American property management companies, with his mother and sister. He also owns a roughly one-fifth stake in closely held conglomerate Otto Group.

As of :
Last change +$31.7M ( +0.6%)
YTD change +$493M ( +9.9%)
Biggest asset Otto Group (retail)
Country / Region Germany
Age 55
Industry Real Estate
View net worth over:   Max 1 year 1 quarter 1 month 1 week

Relative Value

Alexander Otto's net worth of $5.48B can buy ...

0
troy ounces of gold
0
barrels of crude oil

... and is equivalent to ...

0%
of the GDP of the United States
0%
of the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world
0%
of the top 100 U.S. college endowments
0%
of the top 200 U.S. executives’ total awarded compensation
0%
of U.S. existing home sales
0
times the median U.S. household income

Latest News

Net Worth Summary

Cash
Private asset
Public asset
Misc. liabilities
Confidence rating:

Alexander Otto owns 20.9% of closely held retail, financial services and logistics conglomerate Otto Group. The company had revenue of 16.1 billion euros ($19 billion) and Ebitda of 1.2 billion euros in the year ended Feb. 28, 2022, according to its annual report.

He also has a majority stake in ECE Projektmanagement, a Hamburg-based real estate company. He controls this and Toronto-based Park Property Management through his 58% stake in Hamburg-based holding company Kommanditgesellschaft Cura Vermoegensverwaltung. ECE manages 200 shopping centers, according to the company's website.

ECE is valued using an analysis of the price-to-assets under management multiples of two peer companies Patrizia and DIC Asset. ECE has 31 billion euros ($31.2 billion) in assets under management, according to its website in August 2022.

The value of Park Property is calculated based on average occupancy rates, revenue, and cap rates according to research service Colliers and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The value of his cash investments reflect the equity once held in properties the Ottos sold to Paramount, as well as the family's holdings, which were provided by the person familiar with their fortune. The billionaire's share of these holdings is calculated using his stake in the family holding company.

Other holdings include a 6% stake in U.S. real estate company Paramount Group, according to its 2022 proxy statement, and a 20% stake of Deutsche EuroShop, according to its 2021 annual report.

Lukas Nemela, a spokesman for ECE, said the billionaire declined to comment on Bloomberg's net worth calculation.

Biography

Birthdate:
Family: Unknown, No children

Alexander Otto was born in Hamburg to Maren and Werner Otto, the founder of the Otto Group, one of the world's largest mail-order companies. After finishing high school in Oxford, he received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Otto started working at the family's closely held real estate business, ECE Projektmanagement in 1994, which today operates in 12 countries and attracts 4.3 million customers to its 199 shopping centers every day, according to its website. He was appointed the company's CEO in 2000, and also serves on the board of the Otto Group.

Milestones
  • 1949 Father opens namesake retail business in a Hamburg factory.
  • 1967 Born in Hamburg to Maren and Werner Otto, the founder of the Otto Group.
  • 1981 Half-brother, Michael, takes control of Otto Group as chairman and CEO.
  • 1994 Starts working at closely held real estate business ECE Projektmanagement.
  • 1994 Receives MBA from Harvard University.
  • 2000 Appointed ECE's CEO; oversees almost 65 million square feet of shopping malls.
  • 2011 Father dies in Berlin at age 102.
  • 2015 Backs Hamburg's unsuccessful bid for the 2024 Olympics.