Hans Wilsdorf
In an interview with Swiss magazine Blick published Monday, Hans Wilsdorf Foundation general secretary Marc Maugué said the organization distributed more than 500 million francs in aid last year. The foundation has declined tax-exempt status for the past five years and pays about 75 million francs in taxes annually. Its latest purchase, Geneva’s RTS tower, cost 150 million. The total value of its real estate holdings is less than a billion francs.
Rolex and the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation share a founder but little else. Rolex guards its figures. The foundation publishes them. But the differences extend beyond disclosure.
(Data: Hans Wilsdorf Foundation)
The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation’s motto, “Le bien ne fait pas de bruit et le bruit ne fait pas de bien” (“Good does not make noise, and noise does no good”), underscores its discretion when it comes to public presence. That stands in contrast to Rolex, a company that thrives on visibility, sponsorships and products increasingly designed to be seen.
Rolex seeks out champions and virtuosos who embody excellence. The foundation looks for orphans in need of shelter, students short on tuition and local groups struggling to survive. Maugué noted, with modesty, that Geneva would scarcely change if the foundation disappeared. Rolex, by contrast, presents its watch as an essential emblem of achievement. For Rolex, visibility is everything. For the foundation, invisibility is the point. Together, they are the two faces of Hans Wilsdorf’s legacy.