The majority of Thomas Schmidheiny's fortune comes from the colossal cement and building materials group HOLCIM, which was formed through a major merger in 2014. His great-grandfather Jacob founded the family business in 1912; over time, the family built an empire in bricks and cement. His father, Max, divided the inheritance in 1984, and Thomas inherited the cement and concrete supplier Holcim. His brother, Stephan, inherited the concrete supplier Eternit.