Richard Oetker

Richard Oetker (born 4 January 1951) is a German billionaire heir and businessman, who in 2010 became CEO of multinational food processing company Dr. Oetker. In 1976 he was kidnapped by Dieter Zlof, a Slovene-born mechanic, and only released after a substantial ransom was paid. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$2.7 billion. Career He was born in Bielefeld to Rudolf August Oetker (1916–2007) and Susanne Jantsch (1922–2012); his siblings are August Oetker the Younger, Bergit Countess Douglas, and Christian Oetker. He studied agronomy and brewing at the Technical University of Munich and has held various positions at Dr. Oetker since 1981, the year his father retired as CEO. He has been married twice and has two children. Kidnapping On 14 December 1976, the 25-year-old student was kidnapped by 34-year-old Dieter Zlof, a Slovene-born mechanic who locked him into a crate and linked his feet and wrists to manacles that would give him electric shocks if he screamed or tried to break out. While Oetker was 1.94 metres (6'4") tall, the crate was 1.45 metres (4'9") long and 70 cm (28") wide. In the early hours of 15 December, a noise sparked off a near fatal shock that broke Oetker's thighs and two of his ribs as he thumped against the crate. His screams prolonged the shocks by ten seconds, and the pain was such that he briefly wanted to die. He was freed for DM21 million, the highest ransom then paid in Germany. The abduction had lasted 47 hours by the time he was found in an Opel Commodore on 16 December. Zlof was arrested on 30 January 1979 on circumstantial evidence. Though he did not plead guilty, he received the maximum penalty – fifteen years in prison – on 9 June 1980.