W olfgang Herz, along with his brother Michael Herz, is a co-owner of Maxingvest AG, the powerful holding company that controls two of Germany's most iconic consumer brands: the coffee and retail giant Tchibo, and the skincare behemoth Beiersdorf, which is famous for its Nivea brand. The company was co-founded by their father, Max Herz, in 1949. After his death, his children inherited the business, which led to a series of bitter family disputes over the future direction of the company.

Wolfgang and his brother Michael eventually consolidated their control over the family's holdings. As the public face of the family, Wolfgang served as the longtime chairman of the supervisory board of Tchibo and has been a key figure in the family's business strategy for decades. The family is known for being extremely private, and their combined ownership of these two massive and highly profitable consumer brands makes them one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Germany.