| Date of birth | June 21, 1959 (63 years old) |
| Born in | Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| nationality | Germany |
| Marital status | married to Annette Watzke |
| profession | Entrepreneur, Managing Director BVB |
| Full name | Hans Joachim Watzke |
| nickname | Aki Watzke |
| children | 2 (Katharina, André) |
| Founded | Watex Schutz-clothing GmbH |
How rich is Aki Watzke?
Hans-Joachim Watzke, usually just called Aki, has been the managing director of Borussia Dortmund since 2005. As such, in 2006 he was instrumental in averting the club’s impending bankruptcy. He then played his part in BVB becoming one of the best clubs in Europe. Two championships and two DFB Cup victories as well as reaching the Champions League final in 2013 shaped the Watzke era at Borussia in terms of sport. The estimated fortune of Hans-Joachim Watzke is 20 million euros .
How much money Hans-Joachim Watzke earns at Borussia Dortmund
As a listed company, Borussia Dortmund must disclose how much the club’s management earns. Accordingly, Hans-Joachim Watzke receives a fixed annual salary that amounted to 750,000 euros in 2012. There is also a bonus that depends on the economic and sporting success of the club. This amounted to around 1.4 million euros in 2012 and almost 2.2 million euros in 2013. After the contract was extended in 2014, Watzke’s base salary increased to 900,000 euros .
The salary of the BVB boss
In 2016/17, Watzke extended his contract again, which meant he could expect a fixed annual salary of 1.68 million euros. This salary has increased over the years. In 2017/18, Watzke’s annual salary was 1.723 million euros. Subsequently, the annual salary for 2018/19 was already 1.9 million euros. As BVB boss, Aki Watzke earned a fixed base salary of 1.8 million euros in 2019/20 . Depending on the success of the business, a corresponding remuneration is then added to the annual salary. His performance-related bonus was EUR 528,000 in 2017/18 and EUR 720,000 in 2018/19. No performance-based bonus was paid to management in the 2019/20 financial year. With the salary as BVB boss, Aki Watzke continues to expand his fortune.
BVB fan even as a child
Hans-Joachim Watzke comes from Marsberg in Sauerland, about 100 kilometers as the crow flies from Dortmund. There he played football for SV Rot-Weiß Erlinghausen since childhood. After graduating from school in 1978, he studied business administration and then worked for a company that produces protective clothing. With the knowledge he acquired, he founded his own company in 1990: Watex Schutz-Bebekleidungs GmbH . In 1996 Watzke became a member of Borussia Dortmund. As a seven-year-old, he and his father attended the club’s first game at the Rote Erde stadium in Dortmund.’
The savior of Borussia Dortmund
In 2001, Aki Watzke became treasurer of Borussia Dortmund. Four years later he took over the post of managing director of the club. At that time the club was in serious financial difficulties. The mountain of debt amounted to 90 million euros, BVB was on the verge of bankruptcy. In 2006, together with club president Reinhard Rauball and the managing director responsible for finance and organization, Thomas Treß , Watzke ensured that Borussia Dortmund escaped insolvency . This was achieved by the management trio restructuring the club’s liabilities, reducing player salaries by 20 per cent and minimizing other costs. In addition, the naming rights of the Westfalenstadion, the home ground of Borussia, were sold.
With these measures, Watzke and his fellow campaigners rehabilitated the club financially and soon put it on safer waters in terms of sport . In the summer of 2008, BVB hired Jürgen Klopp as a coach, who was able to celebrate the German championship with the team in 2011 and 2012 and victory in the 2012 DFB Cup. In addition, Dortmund made it into the Champions League final in 2013. The club thus established itself at the top of European football. Borussia won another title in the Watzke era in 2017 with the DFB Cup.
Club chairman, company shareholder, book author
In addition to his work at Borussia Dortmund, Aki Watzke is also the first chairman of his hometown club SV Rot-Weiss Erlinghausen. He handed over the management of Watex to his wife Annette in 2005, and his son André joined the company in 2019 after successfully completing his business studies. Watzke himself is a shareholder in the company, which has an annual turnover of between 15 and 20 million euros. In 2019 , Aki Watzke published his autobiography titled Real Love: A Life with BVB .
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