Stephan Schmidheiny Net Worth 2026

Following his involvement in the Rio Summit, Schmidheiny authored the book Change of Course: Global Business Prospects for Development and the Environment,^[13] published by MIT Press in 1992. His book offers an extensive analysis of how businesses can make sustainable development their focus, his book has been translated into fifteen languages.^[14] He also contributed to Financing Change: The Financial Community, Eco-efficiency, and Sustainable Development ^[15] also published by MIT Press.

In the 1990s Schmidheiny established the Fundación Avina ,^[16] which contributes to sustainable development in Latin America by encouraging productive alliances among social and business leaders and today is a leading player in that field. The foundation pioneered a South American microfinance system similar to that of Muhammad Yunus whose widely praised system benefits the citizens of Bangladesh.^[17]

Schmidheiny supports arts and culture through a series of initiatives. He has developed and expanded the art collection of his deceased brother Alexander, the Daros Collection. The Daros Collection, based in Zurich is a substantial collection of North American and European art from the second half of the 20th century.^[18]

Schmidheiny has been involved in trials in Italy since 2012, connected to the use of asbestos in the factories of Eternit.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

He admitted in an interview in 2015^[28] that the strain from the legal proceedings in Italy had deeply affected him. Beyond the aforementioned legal proceedings, Schmidheiny set up funds for victims of asbestos-related diseases in South Africa and Italy, as these countries had no successor company to Eternit, which could bear the financial consequences of asbestos exposure.^[29]

In May 2019, Schmidheiny was sentenced to four years in prison by a Turin court for involuntary manslaughter in the death of two workers.^[11] The ruling followed a decade-long battle between Schmidheiny, the Italian government, former Eternit workers, and residents of towns near the company's asbestos plants. Prosecutor Gianfranco Colace said the ruling set a precedent on deaths from cancer and pulmonary diseases, which can take years to develop after contact with asbestos fiber^[30] In 2023, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on aggravated manslaughter charges related to the deaths of 392 people in Casale Monferrato.^[31]

In October 2025, the Turin Court of Appeals reduced his sentence from Novara Court’s twelve year ruling to nine years and six months for aggravated manslaughter.^[32][33]

In 1993, Schmidheiny received an honorary doctorate from the Instituto Centroamerica de Administración de Empresas (INCAE), Costa Rica^[34] and the same honorary doctorate in 1996 by Yale University.^[35]

In 2001, Schmidheiny received the Zayed International Prize for the Environment for "Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society".^[36]