{{Short description|German billionaire businessman (1952–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox person | image = Wobben.jpg | name = Aloys Wobben | caption = Wobben in 2008 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1952|1|22|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Rastdorf]], [[West Germany]] | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|7|31|1952|1|22|df=y}} | death_place = | education = [[University of Oldenburg]] | occupation = Businessman | title = Founder and owner of [[Enercon]] | spouse = | children = 1 | website = }}
'''Aloys Wobben''' (22 January 1952 – 31 July 2021)<ref>[https://traueranzeigen.nwzonline.de/traueranzeige/aloys-wobben-1952 Aloys Wobben] {{in lang|de}}</ref> was a German billionaire businessman, engineer, and the founder and owner of the wind turbine company [[Enercon]]. He was one of the 50 richest people in Germany, with a fortune estimated at €4.78 billion, as of November 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=31 December 2018|title=Die reichsten Deutschen 2021 {{!}} Die aktuelle Liste der Milliardäre|url=https://www.vermoegenmagazin.de/die-reichsten-deutschen/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=VermögenMagazin|language=de-DE}}</ref> As of August 2021, ''[[Forbes]]'' estimated his net worth to be US$7.1 billion.
== Early life == Aloys Wobben was born in West Germany. He studied electrical engineering and earned a german Diplom Engineer degree (equivalent to a [[Master's degree]]) from the [[University of Oldenburg]].<ref name=Forbes>{{cite web|title=Forbes profile: Aloys Wobben |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/aloys-wobben/ |website=Forbes |accessdate=18 January 2021}}</ref>
== Career == In 1984 he founded the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon in [[Aurich]]. He began developing and producing wind turbines with three employees. In the following years, Enercon developed into one of the most successful companies in the German wind energy industry.<ref name=Forbes /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Enercon {{!}} Invest in Niedersachsen|url=https://www.invest-in-niedersachsen.com/en/reasons-for-niedersachsen/success-stories/Enercon|access-date=5 January 2021|website=invest-in-niedersachsen.com|language=en}}</ref> In 1993, Wobben switched production to the gearless wind turbine with full converter that he had developed. The Enercon E-40 turbine met expectations and ensured the company's worldwide success.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://www.enercon.de/en/company/history/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=enercon.de}}</ref>
For health reasons, Wobben withdrew from the operational business in 2012 and transferred his company shares to the Aloys-Wobben Foundation with effect from 1 October 2012. The foundation thus became the sole shareholder of the Enercon Group.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Enercon ownership transfers to foundation {{!}} REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world|url=https://www.evwind.es/2012/10/04/enercon-ownership-transfers-to-foundation/24282|access-date=5 January 2021|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ill wind: Turbine Giant is Reaping the Storm|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/english/companies/ill-wind-turbine-giant-is-reaping-the-storm/23542018.html|access-date=5 January 2021|website=[[Handelsblatt]]}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
According to ''[[Forbes]]'', Wobben had a net worth of $7.1 billion as of August 2021.<ref name="Forbes" />
== Personal life == Wobben was married, with one child and lived in [[Aurich]].<ref name="Forbes" />
He died in August 2021, after a long illness.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Enercon founder Aloys Wobben dies after a serious illness|date = 3 August 2021|url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2021-08/03/enercon-gruender-aloys-wobben-stirbt-nach-schwerer-krankheit?|access-date = 3 August 2021}}</ref>
== Recognition == * [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] * 2000 [[German Environmental Prize]] of the German Federal Environmental Foundation<ref>{{Cite web|title=DBU – Ecological Commitment honoured: German Environmental Award goes to Franz Daschner and Aloys Wobben {{!}} Englisch|url=https://www.dbu.de/123artikel24908_2897.html|access-date=6 January 2021|website=dbu.de|language=de}}</ref> * 2004 European Solar Prize from [[Eurosolar]] in the category "Special Prize for Special Personal Commitment"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eurosolar und KfW Förderbank verleihen Europäische Solarpreise|url=https://www.strom-magazin.de/strommarkt/eurosolar-und-kfw-foerderbank-verleihen-europaeische-solarpreise_54599.html|access-date=6 January 2021|website=strom-magazin.de}}</ref> * 2006 Honorary doctorate from the [[University of Kassel]]{{citation needed|date= January 2021}} * 2006 Indigenat, a kind of "honorary citizenship", from the Ostfriesische Landschaft for services to the East Frisian economy{{citation needed|date= January 2021}} * 2008 Rudolf Diesel Medal in Gold from the German Institute for Invention (DIE)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bloomberg Billionaires Index|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com//billionaires/|access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref> * 2009 [[Lower Saxony State Prize]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nordwest-Zeitung|title=AUSZEICHNUNG: Land ehrt Wind-Pionier Wobben|url=https://www.nwzonline.de/wirtschaft/land-ehrt-wind-pionier-wobben_a_1,0,3205614113.html|access-date=6 January 2021|website=nwzonline.de|language=de}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wobben, Aloys}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:2021 deaths]] [[Category:German company founders]] [[Category:20th-century German businesspeople]] [[Category:21st-century German businesspeople]] [[Category:German billionaires]] [[Category:People from Aurich]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] [[Category:University of Oldenburg alumni]] [[Category:Lower Saxony State Prize recipients]]