Gustav Siegle (1840-1905), co-founder, major shareholder, and chairman of BASF, was the first major entrepreneur from Württemberg, with a fortune that even surpassed that of the king. By the age of 26, he had acquired almost the entire Karlshöhe in Stuttgart, transforming it into a family estate and a total work of art. This volume tells his life story and the architectural history of the three exceptionally large and valuable villas on Karlshöhe. It is a book full of exciting insights into the life of a bourgeois family during the late imperial era, with highlights on the previously under-researched corporate culture of Stuttgart.