Richard von Schoeller
Richard von Schoeller | |
|---|---|
| File:Richard von Schoeller.jpg Schoeller c. 1920 | |
| Born | Template:Birthdate |
| Died | Template:Dda |
| Alma mater | University of Halle |
| Spouse |
Emmi Siedenburg
(m. 1894; died 1950) |
| Children | Princess Felicitas of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst |
| Parent(s) | Philipp Johann von Schoeller Idaliese von Schickh |
Richard Ritter von Schoeller (known as Richard Schoeller from 1919; born 13 August 1871 – died 22 June 1950) was an Austrian banker and industrial entrepreneur specializing in mining.
Early life
Originating from Groß-Čakovice near Prague, Richard belonged to the Brno lineage of the Schoeller family. He was the offspring of the Moravian industrialist Philipp Johann von Schoeller and Idaliese Edle von Schickh. To prepare for overseeing his family's sugar production facilities located in Groß-Čakovice, Čáslav, and Vrdy, he pursued studies in agricultural sciences at the University of Halle.
Career
Beginning in 1900, Schoeller became involved with the Vienna-based wholesale and trading firm Schoeller & Co., which later evolved into Schoellerbank, initially taking on a partnership role. Under the direction of his cousin Sir Paul Eduard von Schoeller, he was appointed manager of the Ternitzer Steel and Iron Works, an enterprise established by Alexander von Schoeller. Richard expanded this steelworks by adding branches and creating a sales subsidiary aimed at penetrating the German market. For a short period, he incorporated steel factories owned by Prince Johann Adolf von Schwarzenberg in Vordernberg and Trofaiach, though these were shuttered by 1911. His acquisitions also included hammer and rolling mills in Murau and Unzmarkt-Frauenburg, as well as wood pulp and cardboard plants in Hirschwang, which he divested to Neusiedler AG in 1916.
Following the death of Paul Eduard in 1920, Richard inherited full control over the family’s business holdings, encompassing Schoellerbank along with various sugar, beer, and grain manufacturing operations. In 1924, he orchestrated the merger of Bleckmann steelworks in Mürzzuschlag with Ternitzer Schoeller steelworks, establishing Schoeller-Bleckmann Steelworks, over which he presided as president. As head of the Ebenfurther Rolled Barley Factory—which had previously merged with the First Viennese Vonwiller Rolling Mill—he facilitated the consolidation of two Schwechat mills into Getreide AG under Schoeller & Co. In 1926, serving as president of the Hütteldorfer brewery, he led the acquisition of United Schwechat Breweries, elevating it to become Europe’s third-largest brewery.
Personal life
On 11 December 1894, Schoeller wed Emmi Frederika Siedenburg (1873–1956) at Brighton Heights Reformed Church in Staten Island. She was the daughter of Reinhard Siedenburg, a German-born American merchant who served as president of the New York Cotton Exchange and founded the cotton brokerage Reinhard Siedenberg & Company (which ceased operations in 1932), and Henriette (née Heitmann) Siedenburg. Their offspring included:
- Felicitas Aletta Mechthild von Schoeller (1900–1975), who married American steel magnate James Wendell Southard. After his passing in 1927, she remarried banker and diplomat Prince Alfred of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, son of Austrian Prime Minister Prince Konrad of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. Prince Alfred’s lineage linked to European aristocracy, including connections to Archduke Maximilian of Austria.
Due to a lack of male descendants and his serious health condition by 1933, Schoeller appointed his nephew Philipp Alois (son of his brother Philipp Josef) as sole successor to the family enterprises. In 1911, he secured noble titles for cousins Maj. Friedrich von Schoeller and sugar industrialist Robert von Schoeller, although these titles were rescinded following World War I under the 1919 Law on the Abolition of Nobility. Since that legislation, family members have used only "Schoeller" without the "von". Richard von Schoeller passed away on 22 June 1950 in Vienna.
Descendants
His daughter Felicitas was the mother of Sylvia Southard (1926–2004), who became the wife of John Meyer Tiedtke, an American philanthropist and son of Ernest Tiedtke, the originator of the Tiedtke's grocery and department store chain in Ohio.