Trigema-Boss Grupp: Children Bonita and Wolfgang Jr. now over 30 - they talk about their growing up in a different way

Created: 08/04/2022, 04:55

By: Sina Alonso Garcia

They are the future of the Swabian family company Trigema: Bonita and Wolfgang Grupp Junior.

As a child, their father prepared them for a career in the company.

Burladingen - Wolfgang Grupp laid the foundation for his children's careers in the company early on.

Wolfgang Grupp Junior (born 1991) and Bonita (born 1989), both now over 30, have been used to life in public since they were little.

Right from the start, father Wolfgang Grupp consciously showed the private life of the family in the media.

His children immersed themselves directly in the Trigema universe and were not unknown to the workforce either, as

writes.

Bonita was carried straight from the hospital to the Trigema Halls as a baby.

Her father proudly presented her to his employees.

As a small boy, Wolfgang Junior was given a tailor-made suit - he should learn to move in it.

In addition to getting used to the media presence, Grupp's father made sure that his children received the best possible education.

As reported by

, Grupp sent his children to an elite English-speaking boarding school in Switzerland immediately after primary school.

They were brought by helicopter on the first day.

After leaving boarding school, Bonita and Wolfgang Junior went to London to study at elite universities.

Like her father, Bonita studied business administration, her brother also studied business administration and politics.

According to

, the father spent up to 160,000 euros a year on his children's elite education.

Wolfgang Grupp Junior and Bonita: "We can count ourselves in a very fortunate position"

In conversation with the

Bonita and Wolfgang Junior reviewed the past few years a few months ago.

Moderator Florian Weber digs deeper: “You grew up with boarding school, with wealth, with servants in the house – when did you first really understand that things are a little different for you than maybe for the neighbors’ children in Burladingen?” Wolfgang Junior explains: "Yeah, well, I went to boarding school when I was ten - that was definitely a point where we knew it wasn't the norm now.

But we grew up with it, I think you don't always realize that as clearly as it might be on the outside.

But we don't see each other like that at all." As he emphasizes, there are "certainly many advantages, but also certainly many disadvantages from the whole".

Nevertheless, it is a "huge opportunity"

Review: The group children were used to the media early on.

Here you can see the family in their living room in Burladingen (archive picture).

© IMAGO / Karo

After graduating from the elite universities, Bonita and Wolfgang Junior started their professional practice in the family company almost at the same time in their mid-20s.

Bonita now manages the areas of online trading and human resources, while Wolfgang Junior is responsible for business customers and IT projects.

Who will inherit the father as managing director is still in the stars.

However, Grupp has already said that he makes the successor at the top of the Trigema dependent on his children's choice of partner.

The 80-year-old company mogul is apparently not yet thinking about quitting.

Wolfgang Grupp Junior and Bonita: "Huge footsteps that we will probably never be able to fill"

Although both children have attended elite boarding schools and should therefore be highly educated, they have a lot of respect for the future role of CEO.

"We know that there are huge footsteps that we will probably never be able to fill," Bonita told

.

"We can learn so much from our father, he has this brutal discipline, this straightforwardness," adds Wolfgang Junior.

Wolfgang Grupp with his wife Elisabeth, daughter Bonita and son Wolfgang (archive picture 2015).

© VISTAPRESS / G. Chlebarov / IMAGO

Even more than discipline, father Grupp is obviously important that his children believe in themselves.

In a mind game, he explains: "If my children were to stand at my grave and say: Dad, you didn't think we were capable of anything, you brought in executors and managing directors - and they put us all down.

Then I would stand up and say: What a raving father I was!” But the children at the grave would say: “Dad, you thought we were capable of everything, unfortunately we put everything down.

Then I would stand up and say: I'm proud that it was you, my children!"