Thomas Matter

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Thomas Matter
Thomas Matter (2014)
Member of the National Council (Switzerland)
Assumed office
2 June 2014
Preceded byChristoph Blocher
ConstituencyCanton of Zürich
Personal details
Born
Thomas Matter

(1966-03-23) 23 March 1966 (age 58)
Liestal, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland
Political partySwiss People's Party
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • banker
  • philanthropist
  • politician
Websitethomasmatter.ch (in German)

Thomas Matter[1] (born 23 March 1966) is a Swiss businessman, banker, philanthropist[2] and politician. He currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Swiss People's Party since 2014.[3] Matter is estimated to be the second richest politician in the Swiss legislature with an estimated net worth of 150 million Swiss Francs (2017) by Handelszeitung.[4][5]

Early life and education[edit]

Matter was born 23 March 1966 in Liestal, Switzerland, the second of three sons of Peter Matter, who was Chief Treasurer at Hoffmann-La Roche, and belonged among a well situated circle which included Martin Ebner and Christoph Blocher.[6] His father was also a board member of Ems-Chemie.[7] His younger brother, Samuel Matter, is a partner of asset management company 2trade Group Ltd. in Zürich.[8] His elder brother, Frank Matter (b. 1964), owns the film production company Soap Factory in Basel.[9] His second cousin, Ruedi Matter, was the president of Swiss Radio and Television.

He was primarily raised in Sissach were he attended middle and highschool. Subsequently, he completed a banking apprenticeship followed by a language exchange in the United States.[10]

Career[edit]

He initially worked in several banking positions, including Merrill Lynch in London.[11] In 1994, he among other banking executives, founded Swissfirst Group, which he led as CEO until 2006. Matter sold his stake in the group, which was subsequently renamed Bellevue Group, in 2006[12][13][14] and subsequently resigned from management.[13]

In 2005, Matter has founded Matter Group AG, which acts as his personal family office and primarily seeks participations in Swiss companies and supports SMEs.[15][16] In 2010, it became public that Matter and his former business partner Daniel Hefti, was in the process of founding a new private bank.[17] The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved the banking license for Neue Helvetische Bank AG and it began operations in 2011. Now the bank is called Helvetische Bank AG and is primarily active in the field of corporate services to entrepreneurs and often referred to as 'entrepreneurial banking institute'.[18]

Matter is on the board of directors of several companies, including MG Real Estate AG,[19] MG Real Estate (Spain) AG,[20] Matter Group AG,[15] Helvetische Bank AG[21] and Matter Beteiligungen AG (investments).[22] He is a trustee of the foundation for bourgeois politics in Zug, on the advisory council of the Zurich Banking Association, Swiss Family Business Zürich and the No to the European Union Committee.

Philanthropy[edit]

Matter publicly stated that he is against development aid financed by the government through subventions.[23] He is involved in several philanthropic endeavours, such as building an orphanage in Honduras.[2]

Politics[edit]

In 2012, Matter became the head of the treasury of the Swiss People's Party, and ally of Christoph Blocher. Blocher returned to National Council (Switzerland) after being outvoted of the Swiss Federal Council in 2007, on which he continued to serve until 2014.[24][25] After his ultimate resignation, Matter took his seat in succession in the National Council (Switzerland) assuming office on 2 June 2014.[26]

He currently also serves on the commission for economics and taxation and as deputy on the EU/EFTA delegation for the European Parliament.[3]

Personal life[edit]

Matter has been married to Marion Matter, who also serves on the Cantonal Council of Zürich for the Swiss People's Party, since 2023.[27] They have one daughter and reside in Meilen, Switzerland.[28] From a previous marriage with Isabelle (née Seiler) he has three daughters, she resides in nearby Küsnacht.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Thomas Matter in Meilen – Auskünfte". Moneyhouse (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Der SVP-Nationalrat und seine 80 Kinder". Der Bund (in German). 4 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Ratsmitglied ansehen". www.parlament.ch. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Das sind die reichsten Parlamentarier". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  5. ^ Schumacher, Samuel (25 January 2019). "Grossspende – Grosszügig: SVP-Nationalrat spendet 100'000 Franken für schwerkranke Bettina". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Machtnetz von Thomas Matter: Der vielfach Berufene". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Peter Matter, Ems-Chemie Holding AG: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Samuel Matter, 2trade Group Ltd: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  9. ^ "SOAP FACTORY". www.soapfactory.ch. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Kurzlebenslauf – Thomas Matter". www.thomasmatter.ch. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  11. ^ Zuerich, ETH-Bibliothek. "Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt = Feuille officielle suisse du commerce = Foglio ufficiale svizzero di commercio". E-Periodica (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  12. ^ bbu. "Swissfirst tauft sich um und verkauft Private Banking | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Von der Swissfirst zurück zur Bellevue | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Von Swissfirst nicht viel übrig – Institutionelle Kundschaft – Namenaktien kommen". Finanz und Wirtschaft (in German). 20 December 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  15. ^ a b AG, DV Bern. "Matter Group AG". Commercial register of canton Zurich. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Home". Matter Group (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Thomas Matter gründet eine neue Bank | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Swiss Banker Touted to Run Right-Wing Party". finews.com. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  19. ^ AG, DV Bern. "MG Real Estate AG". Commercial register of canton Zurich. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  20. ^ AG, DV Bern. "MG Real Estate (Spain) AG". Commercial register of canton Zurich. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  21. ^ AG, DV Bern. "Helvetische Bank AG". Commercial register of canton Zurich. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  22. ^ AG, DV Bern. "Matter Beteiligungen AG". Commercial register of canton Zug. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  23. ^ "SVP-Nationalrat Thomas Matter, warum er die verfehlte Politik der linksgrünen Stadtregierungen angreift". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  24. ^ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Rücktritt – Blocher tritt zurück: "Ich war nie ein begeisterter Parlamentarier"". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). 9 May 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Nationalrat – Thomas Matter tritt Nachfolge von Christoph Blocher im Nationalrat an". Limmattaler Zeitung (in German). 23 May 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Drei Listenplätze gutgemacht – Marion Matter schafft die Wahl vom sechsten Listenplatz aus". Zürichsee-Zeitung (in German). 12 February 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Thomas Matter's House in Meilen, Switzerland (Google Maps)". Virtual Globetrotting. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
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