Fritz Kaiser: From sport to art and Formula 1
Kaiser-Ritter Partner is based in a low rise, red brick building on the outskirts of Vaduz. The interiors are calm and light, with high, white walls providing the backdrop for works from Kaiser’s vast art collection. He is among the world’s foremost collectors of contemporary Chinese art and his collection can be seen on website 88 Mocca, the Museum of Contemporary Chinese Art on the web.
Kaiser is a youthful looking 53. His compact, solid frame and firm handshake betray a successful career in judo, which culminated in an appearance at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. It was his sporting prowess that provided a springboard to business. First, he was taken under the wing of Peter Ritter, the chairman of the Liechtenstein Olympic committee whose eponymous company ran the principality’s oldest trust: Präsidial-Anstalt. Kaiser worked for Ritter for fi ve years but when friends from his sporting days began asking for advice on their professional careers he decided to set up his own company to handle their affairs. The business flourished during the 1980s, as clients such as skiers Marc Girardelli and Hanni Wenzel and motor racing driver Gerhard Berger reached the top of their sports. In 1990, Kaiser purchased the Swiss and Liechtenstein business of credit card company Diners Club and in 1997 became co-owner of the Sauber Formula 1 racing team. He sold his interests in both in 1999 and, with a fortune estimated by Switzerland’s Bilanz magazine at between Sfr200m and Sfr300m, contemplated retirement. Instead, he started thinking about the future of the wealth advisory business he still owned and the responsibilities he felt as a substantial wealth owner. He became closely involved with plans to overhaul Liechtenstein’s position as a tax haven and three years ago merged his business with that of his mentor, Ritter.
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