Former Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp stands like no other German entrepreneur for discipline, constant presence and the principle that a company boss is not only responsible for numbers, but also for attitude. The new book “Wolfgang Grupp: The Authorized Biography,” which is published today, is dedicated to the ups and downs of his life.
Grupp has been keeping a diary since 1953
According to author Volker ter Haseborg, work on the book began six months before Wolfgang Grupp tried to kill himself in his house. Grupp tells him that he has been keeping a diary since 1953, “at the time he was eleven years old”. For July 7th his diary says: “4.45 a.m. suicide attempt”. “It was a mistake, a spur-of-the-moment act,” says Grupp looking back in his biography. He himself has hardly any memories of these hours.
Already in the prologue, Grupp asks himself whether the chapter even belongs in the work and whether a “cut” could be made before July 7, 2025. His wife Elisabeth’s answer is clear: “The chapter has to be written.” He could help people by talking about his illness. “It’s part of your life.”
The history of the groups
The biography also describes the starting point of an old-age depression, which the senior made public along with the suicide attempt. At the beginning of 2024, he handed over the textile manufacturer’s business to his children and then plunged into a personal crisis. He said that after 55 years of responsibility, he suddenly felt that he was no longer needed.
- Help in an acute crisis:
If you are in an acute crisis or know someone in such a situation, you can contact the nearest psychiatric clinic 24 hours a day or dial the emergency number on 112. The crisis service in your region also offers quick help.
You can reach the telephone counseling service around the clock and free of charge on 0800-111 0 111 or 0800-111 0 222 in Germany. In Austria you can dial 142 and in Switzerland 143.
Omnipresent in his life story: his family. It’s also about the power struggle with his father Franz, which he can win. How he meets and marries his wife (“The wedding cake has to be brought in with a forklift”), how he hands over the boss position to his family and then only has difficulty staying out of the business.
Behind the scenes
The non-public sides of Wolfgang Grupp are also shown – for example, how he appears unsettled as he bites into his sausage roll at the breakfast table before a lecture to entrepreneurs in northern Germany and doesn’t know whether he can handle the performance. “Sometimes there seems to be a second, invisible Wolfgang Grupp on stage next to him. One who looks at the other, real Wolfgang Grupp and asks him: What are you actually doing?”
The Grupp family is now making sure that no overly harsh statements from the senior are made public. This is also taken into account in a podcast interview. “Trigema-IT has even developed an AI that examines the podcast transcript for statements that could be perceived as offensive.” And it works too.
The luxury and privacy
Grupp usually portrays himself as a disciplined worker in a tailored suit, but according to his biography, he also loves luxury. This is not only clear from the 2.30 meter high wedding cake, which has to be transported by forklift. The book provides insights into a very privileged life with domestic servants, butlers, chauffeurs (“who no longer have to wear a hat”), luxury cars and business trips in a helicopter – plus a villa with a pool at the company’s location in Burladingen on the Swabian Alb, a hunting lodge in the Allgäu, and an Alpine hut with mountain views.
The Grupps no longer want to give any more private insights in the future – at least three family members make that clear in their biographies. “The very last thing that will be published privately is this book,” says Elisabeth Grupp.
When Wolfgang Grupp, irritated, asks what that means, she answers unequivocally: In the future, Wolfgang and Bonita Grupp will only give interviews on business topics; private life should be kept out of the public eye. For her, the story of the Grupp family is not over, but it has been told.
