Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli

Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli is a descendant of chemist Ludwig Reimann, who, in 1828, joined with Johann Adam Benckiser. Five years earlier, Benckiser had founded a namesake chemical company. Reimann married one of his daughters and wound up owning the business, based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, after Johann's death. Great-grandson Albert Reimann Jr. took the reins after his father died in 1952, and added consumer goods. Upon Albert's death in 1984, Andrea and eight other heirs each inherited 11.1% of Luxembourg-based Investment holding JAB Holding Company s.à.r.l (JAB). Today, JAB owns stakes in a variety of consumer products companies including Reckitt Benckiser -- a multinational (health, hygiene and home products) formed via the 1999 merger of the Reimann family business with Britain's Reckitt & Colman Ltd. -- Peet's Coffee & Tea and Coty, a maker of perfume and beauty products. Only four of the original nine Reimann heirs retain an interest in JAB. Reimann-Ciardelli, now a U.S. citizen, sold her JAB stake for close to $1 billion in 2003.