Withdrawal into Private Life at the Peak of Success

Helmut Horten withdrew from the business world at the height of his economic success. He and his wife moved to Croglio, in the Canton of Ticino, at the end of 1968. In 1969-70, he sold the majority of his shares and, by the end of 1971, his remaining interests in his department store chain.

Several factors persuaded him to take this work. Second, as a strong advocate of free enterprise, he feared that increasing state intervention could severely restrict freedom of action within the market place.