“The Geissens” This is how the Geiss family got their wealth
The Geissens as guests of Formula E in the pit lane
© Andreas Beil / IMAGO
by Jan Gänger
25.03.2024, 20:34
2 Min.
From Monday, the Geiss family can be seen doing their favorite activity again: spending money. Where does the family’s wealth come from?
Robert and Carmen Geiss have been sharing their luxury life with television viewers for more than ten years. In the reality documentary “The Geissens – A Terribly Glamorous Family” they and their two daughters provide a skilfully staged insight into their everyday jet-setting life. The 22nd season will be broadcast on RTLZwei from Monday – and that raises the question: How did the Geissens become so rich?
Geiss, the son of a fair outfitter, joined the family business after secondary school and did an apprenticeship as a businessman. Together with his brother, he founded the bodybuilder clothing brand “Uncle Sam” in 1986. According to their own statements, they sold the company in 1995 for 140 million German marks and split the money.
Shortly before, Robert Geiss had married the fitness trainer Carmen Schmitz. The two have been living in Monaco for almost 30 years, which should be quite advantageous for tax purposes. In November 2022, the entrepreneur and reality star put his assets at 100 million euros. “That’s the pension, that’s the basis so that I can still live peacefully even at the age of 70,” said the 59-year-old in the “OMR Podcast”. Carmen Geiss recently dismissed doubts about the big bank account in “Bild”: “I don’t comment on media reports like that anymore. I’ve developed a thick skin now. I know it’s not true.”
Geiss never tires of emphasizing that he earned his money himself. Or as he put it in one of the first episodes: “If you don’t do your homework, you won’t ride a jet ski!” According to “Bild”, the Geissens own a home in Monaco, a villa in the south of France and a chalet in the French Alps. The couple recently bought an apartment of more than 500 square meters in Dubai to spend the winter months there.
“Make more money than you spend”
The documentary soap is a lucrative source of income. The production company behind the format belongs to the Geissens, Carmen is the managing director there. In 2002, Robert Geiss said that the family earned 60,000 euros per episode – that would mean almost 2.3 million euros for the season broadcast that year alone.
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In May 2015, Geiss opened a luxury hotel near Saint-Tropez on the Côte d’Azur and named it “Maison Prestige”. The operator is “Roberto Geissini”, and the Geissens also sell a fashion brand under this label. The two are also said to be active in the real estate business, i.e. buying properties and reselling them at a higher price after renovation. The family probably earned significant income from their advertising contracts.
Robert Geiss is also active on the stock market – but not always with success. “Wirecard cost me money. But thank God there were only a few hundred thousand who were gone,” he said on the “OMR Podcast”. As “Business Insider” reported last spring, other family ventures were also not going well.
Only the Geissens know how much money the family actually has. “We have a joint account. No matter who earns how much, everything goes up there – and down again,” said Carmen to “Bild”. “We both know that you should always earn more money than you spend. We have lived by this motto our whole lives,” says Robert. “Of course we spend a lot of money when we buy houses or jewelry. But we invest wisely. And we know how much a pound of butter costs. That’s how we were raised at home. We weren’t born millionaires.”
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