Haribo’s Gummi Bear Billionaire Dies at 90

Former Haribo Chief Executive Officer Hans Riegel, the eldest son of the German gummi bear manufacturer’s founder (who shared the same name), died on Tuesday at the age of 90. His Bonn-based company continues to make millions of candies worldwide every day.

Haribo, an acronym for “Hans Riegel Bonn,” is credited for inventing those legendary, translucent, fruity candies that children eat voraciously despite playground rumors that they stay in your stomach for weeks. The candies are called gummibärchen in German. Haribo’s “dancing bear”-shaped gummies, introduced by the elder Riegel in 1922 and the basis for today’s iconic bear shape, have spawning a variety of spinoffs, including worms and insects, sharks and penguins, and all manner of cartoon characters. The company has also had success with Fruity Cocktail, Pandas, and Happy Cola gummies.