Hasso Plattner
German businessman; co-founder of SAP and founder of the Hasso Plattner Institute
| Hasso Plattner
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Plattner at the Hasso Plattner Institute, 2006 |
| Born | 21 January 1944 (Forbes; HPI) Berlin, Germany (HPI; Hasso Plattner Foundation) |
| Nationality | German |
| Residence | Heidelberg (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Co-founder of SAP; chairman of the SAP supervisory board 2003–2024 |
| Known for | SAP; Hasso Plattner Institute; Museum Barberini; San Jose Sharks |
| Children | 2 (Forbes) |
| Education | University of Karlsruhe, communications engineering, graduated 1968 (Hasso Plattner Foundation; Forbes) |
Hasso Plattner (born 21 January 1944) is a German businessman. In 1972 he co-founded the software company SAP. He was its chief executive from 1997 to 2003 and chaired its supervisory board until May 2024.[1][2] He founded the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, funds the Museum Barberini and is majority owner of the San Jose Sharks ice hockey team.[3][4][5] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Plattner 195th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$14.7 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as software.[5][6] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Plattner 210th, at US$13.8 billion.[7]
Early life and IBM
According to the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) and his foundation, Plattner was born in Berlin. He studied communications engineering at Karlsruhe, graduating in 1968, and that year joined IBM Germany in Mannheim as a program developer.[2][3]
SAP
SAP says that on 1 April 1972 Plattner and Dietmar Hopp founded Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung with their IBM colleagues Claus Wellenreuther, Klaus Tschira and Hans-Werner Hector. In 1973 they launched RF, their first financial accounting system.[1] The company listed in Frankfurt and Stuttgart in October 1988.[1] When it went public Plattner became deputy chair of the executive board, and he was chief executive from 1997 to 2003, according to his foundation.[2] SAP's account credits Plattner with taking R/3 to the United States: at the Sapphire conference in Orlando in September 1992 he promised delivery within six weeks to anyone who ordered it. It also describes the 1993 alliance with Microsoft.[1] He stepped down from the supervisory board at the annual general meeting on 15 May 2024 after 21 years as chairman.[1] Forbes's 2026 profile still says he has been chairman since May 2003.[5]
Hasso Plattner Institute
Plattner founded HPI at the University of Potsdam in 1998. Its first 77 students began a year later.[2][3] HPI's operating company is a non-profit whose sole shareholder is the Hasso Plattner Foundation, and its Digital Engineering Faculty is a privately funded faculty of the university.[3] His foundation credits HPI's research on in-memory data management with leading to SAP's HANA database.[2] HPI added a School of Design Thinking in 2007. The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University followed in 2010, and Forbes also mentions a school at the University of Cape Town.[2][5] In June 2025 Plattner announced plans to expand the University of Potsdam on the Brauhausberg, the former site of the state parliament. A letter of intent was signed between the State of Brandenburg, the university and his foundation.[3] HPI says he was a member of Stanford's Board of Trustees.[3]
Art and Potsdam
Plattner funded the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, which opened in 2017; his foundation's photographs show him with Angela Merkel at the opening.[5][2] The museum says his collection of 115 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, begun in 2000, has mostly been on permanent display there since autumn 2020. Its 40 Monets are more than any other venue in Europe outside France shows in one place.[4] He has also funded DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam and co-founded the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in New York.[2] Potsdam made him an honorary citizen in 2017, citing the museum, HPI and his funding of the reconstruction of Potsdam Palace.[4]
Philanthropy
Plattner joined the Giving Pledge in 2013 and set up the Hasso Plattner Foundation in 2015.[2] Forbes says he has supported HIV/AIDS and TB prevention, youth care and education, and conservation research in Africa.[5]
Sport and other interests
Forbes lists him as majority owner of the San Jose Sharks. It also reports that he runs the incubator and venture fund Hasso Plattner Ventures and sails his yacht Morning Glory competitively.[5]
Wealth
Forbes classes Plattner as self-made, with wealth from software.[5]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[7][5]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 60 | 5.4 |
| 2002 | 72 | 4.4 |
| 2003 | 118 | 2.9 |
| 2004 | 76 | 5.4 |
| 2005 | 94 | 5.0 |
| 2006 | 89 | 6.4 |
| 2007 | 119 | 6.0 |
| 2008 | 189 | 5.4 |
| 2009 | 110 | 4.5 |
| 2010 | 154 | 5.0 |
| 2011 | 141 | 6.9 |
| 2012 | 127 | 7.2 |
| 2013 | 122 | 8.9 |
| 2014 | 147 | 8.8 |
| 2015 | 137 | 9.1 |
| 2016 | 113 | 9.5 |
| 2017 | 118 | 11.2 |
| 2018 | 116 | 12.7 |
| 2019 | 94 | 13.5 |
| 2020 | 96 | 12.4 |
| 2021 | 297 | 8.3 |
| 2022 | 288 | 7.9 |
| 2023 | 232 | 8.6 |
| 2024 | 164 | 12.1 |
| 2025 | 141 | 15.2 |
| 2026 | 210 | 13.8 |
Political activity
In June 2025 his foundation signed a letter of intent with the State of Brandenburg and the University of Potsdam on the Brauhausberg campus expansion.[3]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
United States: Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, the San Jose Sharks and the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in New York. South Africa: a design school at the University of Cape Town and funding for HIV/AIDS, TB and conservation work in Africa.[2][5]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Michael Zipf, The end of an era: Hasso Plattner steps down SAP News Center, 13 May 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Hasso Plattner Foundation, Hasso Plattner Hasso Plattner Foundation, undated page, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Hasso Plattner Institute, About us Hasso Plattner Institute, undated page, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Museum Barberini, Founder and foundation Museum Barberini, undated page, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Hasso Plattner (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/hasso-plattner/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 20:12 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.