Hugo Dieter Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician. During the late era of the German Empire and early Weimar Republic, he was considered to be one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Europe. Life and career Early life Stinnes was born in Mülheim, in the Ruhr Valley, North German Confederation. His parents Hermann Hugo (1842–1887) and Adeline Stinnes (1844–1925), and his grandfather, Matthias Stinnes, had founded a modest enterprise in Mülheim. After passing his graduating examination from a secondary school (Realschule), young Stinnes was placed in an office at Koblenz where he received business training. In order to get a practical knowledge of mining, he worked for a few months as a miner at the Wiethe colliery. Then, in 1889, he attended a course of instruction at the Academy of Mining in Berlin (in 1916 merged into the Berlin Institute of Technology). In 1890, he inherited his father's coal mining and other financial enterprises. Building a conglomerate Gradually, from working in the coal industry, he purchased his own shipyard. He also began to purchase seagoing vessels as well as river steamers and barges, the latter—especially on the Rhine—on a constantly increasing scale. He next organized an extensive international business in coal, and had 13 steamers trading to and from North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Sea ports. They carried coal, wood, grain and iron ore. By the age of 23, Stinnes was heavily invested in the steel industry. He also imported great quantities of English coal and had an agency at Newcastle as well as an interest in some English mines. This led to his establishing branches of his business at Hamburg and at Rotterdam. Since its founding in 1898, Stinnes had been on the Board of Directors of the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk Aktiengesellschaft (RWE). He envisioned using the steam from his mines to drive turbines for electricity production. As soon as Stinnes recognized RWE's potential he and steel magnate Fritz Thyssen bought shares to become the majority shareholder. The reason for RWE's rapid growth were the permits provided by the communities. However, since these concessions were time-limited, he chose to make the communities permanent shareholders, and gave each mayor a car. During the First World War Before World War I, he was the possessor of a significant fortune which was vaguely estimated at several million pounds. He was a director of many