Hansjörg Wyss

Wyss was born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1935. His father sold mechanical calculators and his mother was a homemaker. He was brought up in a flat with two sisters.[3] After receiving a master's degree in civil and structural engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 1959,[4] Wyss earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. Following that, he worked in various positions in the textile industry, including as a factory engineer and project manager for Chrysler in Pakistan, Turkey, and the Philippines.[4][5]

Wyss also worked in the steel industry in Brussels, Belgium.[4] During his time working in that industry, Wyss ran a side business selling airplanes. Through one sale, he met a surgeon who had co-founded Swiss medical device manufacturer Synthes.[6] After that meeting, Wyss spent two years learning about the medical device industry. He then founded and became president of Synthes USA in 1977.[5]

In 1977, Wyss founded and became president of Synthes USA,[5][7] the U.S. division of the Switzerland-based Synthes, a medical device manufacturer making internal screws and plates for broken bones.[6] He founded the company after meeting Martin Allgoewer, the founder of AO Foundation, and obtaining permission to sell the organization's devices in the Americas.[8] In an early initiative, Wyss opened a Synthes USA manufacturing plant in Colorado.[5] Prior to that, another Swiss company manufactured Synthes' devices and exported them to the U.S.[5] Under Wyss' control, the U.S. division expanded its sales team and trained surgeons how to use its products.[5] Wyss served as Synthes' worldwide CEO and chairman until his resignation as CEO in 2007.[4] He maintained his post as company chairman until Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes in 2012.[9][10] During his tenure, Wyss said discussions of new products made up one-third of board meetings.[5] A manager assigned to the Norian project testified before a grand jury that "for somebody who is at his level and his level of success, I would say he [Wyss] has a surprising amount of contact with what's going on". Staff recalled meetings in which he intensively probed their projects.[11]

In 2009, top executives at Synthes were indicted by U.S. Attorneys for Eastern Pennsylvania for using an untested calcium-phosphate-based bone cement on human patients without authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Use of the bone cement resulted in the deaths of three people.[12] Wyss was not indicted, but four top executives of Synthes were convicted and sentenced to prison terms.[11]

In 2012, Wyss sold the company for $19.7 billion in cash and stock to Johnson & Johnson.[13] According to Bloomberg, he received 97.4 million shares in Johnson & Johnson and $3.2 billion cash from the deal.[8]

According to Forbes, Wyss is "among the most philanthropic people in the world".[1][14] Between 2004 and 2008, Businessweek estimated that Wyss personally donated nearly US$277 million.[6] His giving increased subsequent to the sale of Synthes in 2012. In 2013, he signed The Giving Pledge, agreeing to give away the majority of his fortune.[1][15] The assets of his charitable foundations equal nearly $2 billion.[1]

He has made major donations to environmental and scientific causes,[6] as well as progressive organizations, including the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Health Leads, and the Constitutional Accountability Center.[16]

In 2019, Wyss promised to donate 20 million swiss francs to the Bern Art Museum. He made it a condition that the Hodlerstrasse, on which the museum is located, be free of cars. [17]

In 2015, Wyss publicly declared that he was in favor of higher inheritance taxes for the wealthy in Switzerland.[34]

Wyss is a member of the Democracy Alliance, a club of liberal donors.[26]

There has been a longstanding rivalry between billionaire Wyss, who supports liberal politics, and billionaire Christoph Blocher, who supports conservative politics. Both entered into public debates about the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union as well as the limitation of immigration into Switzerland. Wyss highlighted the advantages of openness toward the EU and immigrants while Blocher advocated for Switzerland's independence in those matters.[35]

In 2014, Wyss said he carried only a Swiss passport and did not have a U.S. green card.[26] As of 2021, The New York Times wrote, he "has not disclosed publicly whether he holds citizenship or permanent residency" in the U.S.[38]

Wyss lives in Wyoming.[39] His daughter, Amy, is a resident of Wyoming also.[40] Wyss is a hiker, skier, and backpacker.[18] He also is a hobby pilot.[4] He is involved in outdoor education programs and he funds local efforts to conserve wildlife habitat and public lands in the Rocky Mountains.[18][41]

In 2000, Wyss purchased the 900-acre (3.6 km²) Halter Ranch and Vineyard in western Paso Robles, California.[42] The ranch includes an 1,800-acre wildlife reserve and a 281-acre vineyard producing 13 varietals of grapes using methods that are "Sustainability in Practice" certified. The ranch hosts tours and was named "Best Vineyard Experience" by Sunset Magazine in 2015.[43]

As of 2017, Wyss ranked 281 on the Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $5.5 billion.[44][29] He ranks number 235 on the Bloomberg list of billionaires.[8]

On May 6, 2022 Chelsea F.C. announced that the club agreed to terms with a new ownership group, of which Wyss is a member.[45] The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2022.[2]

• The Wyss Foundation
• Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
• Wyss Campaign for Nature