The big bet of Germany's richest man: creating a European rival to Google and Amazon

From supermarkets to IT This headquarters is not in California, but in Bad Friedrichshall, a small town in southern Germany, a few kilometers from Heilbronn, the hometown of the man named by specialized magazines as the richest man in Germany: Dieter Schwarz, aged 86. It was from Heilbronn that he built the Lidl empire, one of the best-known supermarket chains in Germany and present in several European countries. More than 600 thousand people work in Schwarz Group companies around the world. 'We don't need to hide from Google or anyone else', says Wagner. Nicolas Martin/DW The conglomerate grew mainly thanks to the Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains. But, as the Schwarz Group prefers to do everything itself, it has expanded into several areas: food production, waste management, recycling and, now, digitalization. In 2025, the Schwarz Group recorded a turnover of almost 185 billion euros – more than SAP, Mercedes or Bayer. Only the automaker Volkswagen earned more among German companies. Europe without technological dependence The Schwarz Group has always been known for discretion. Its founder, Dieter Schwarz, is almost never talked about. There are few public photographs of him. It is said that he can walk around Heilbronn without being recognized. But now the Schwarz Group is making headlines with a new narrative, which starts with Schwarz Digits and revolves around digital independence and the valorization of Germany as a technology hub. "If you're not sitting at the table, it ends up being part of the menu," says Wagner in his air-conditioned office. If in recent years Schwarz Digits has mainly taken care of the IT infrastructure of the group's 14,500 supermarkets around the world, it now offers its cloud and digital security services to private companies and public bodies as well. According to Wagner, the objective is to make Germany and Europe play a leading role again and stop being completely dependent on technologies from the United States or China. “We want to give Europe back its ability to act,” he says. This positioning is yielding results. In recent times, the company has been winning large contracts. Its customers and partners include the Dutch government, German ministries and the German Football Association (DFB). In the Spreewald region, south of Berlin, Schwarz Digits is building a data center. At a cost of 11 billion euros, it is the largest single investment in the group's history. The amount invested in the new headquarters in Bad Friedrichshall was not disclosed. What is known is that the facility was designed to retain IT talent in Germany and even attract new professionals. The message is clear: why move to expensive Silicon Valley when it is possible to work in a sector of the future in southern Germany? Heilbronn is transformed Anyone who walks through Heilbronn can clearly see how the city is developing its talents. An example is the educational campus of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, where several German teaching and research institutions train around 8 thousand students. The expectation is that the number will still grow significantly. Nearby is Experimenta, which presents itself as the largest science center in Germany and has become a symbol of the city and a tourist attraction. There, visitors can experience artificial intelligence technologies and applications in practice. Heilbronn Mayor Harry Mergel took part in the initiative that led to the construction of Experimenta around 20 years ago. One of the main financiers of the project was the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. Mergel has been mayor of the city, which has more than 130,000 inhabitants, since 2014. Like many others, he avoids talking much about the patron who did not leave his homeland. “Everyone has the right to anonymity,” he says. The AI ??megaproject The transformation of the city is already visible. Heilbronn, which the residents themselves sometimes self-deprecatingly called "Heilbronx", today appears in some rankings as the city with the highest purchasing power in Germany. The growing number of residents from India and China also indicates that information technology jobs are attracting professionals to the region. Furthermore, there is a megaproject that should make the city even better known internationally in the coming years: the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI). With this artificial intelligence innovation park, Heilbronn aims to compete with technology centers such as London and Paris. The expectation is that up to 5 thousand people will work and research in the complex located on the outskirts of the city. The first buildings will open in 2027. Once again, both the Dieter Schwarz Foundation and the Schwarz Group play a central role in the project. The costs were not disclosed, but IPAI has been operating as a network of collaborators since 2022, and around 140 companies and partners develop projects related to artificial intelligence. Mergel, whose mandate runs until 2030, is adamant: "The future is being built in Heilbronn." Lidl chain store. Jelena Djuvic Pejic/DW Will it work? Wagner follows the same line: "Our region will soon become the largest center for training in artificial intelligence in Germany and Europe." And Schwarz Digits intends, of course, to play an important role in this scenario. But can the company really compete with the technology giants? Amazon, for example, made $135 billion in its cloud computing business alone last year. Schwarz Digits, considering all its activities, achieves around 2.2 billion euros in revenue. Even so, Wagner shows confidence. According to him, opportunities arise naturally, as Germany and Europe urgently need independent IT solutions. The Schwarz Group is also not by chance the largest retailer in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. Dieter Schwarz has demonstrated strategic patience and an eye for great opportunities on numerous occasions. Therefore, it is entirely possible that his new big bet will end up being a success.