Berthold Beitz served as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Foundation's Chairman, and he was an executive member of its Board of Trustees.

Berthold Beitz was born on September 26, 1913, in Zemmin near Demmin in West Pomerania, Germany. His father served as a sergeant in the 2nd Pomeranian Lancers 9 before joining the staff of the Reichsbank, then the German central bank. Beitz attended grammar school in Greifswald and graduated from high school in 1934. After a banking apprenticeship and a period of work in a bank, he joined Shell AG in Hamburg in 1939. In the same year he was transferred to Beskiden-Erdöl AG in Jaslo, Poland, and in 1941 became commercial manager of the Carpathian oil company Karpaten-Oel AG in Boryslaw, Poland. During this time, he and his wife Else, who he married in December 1939, saved hundreds of Jews from certain death in National Socialist extermination camps.

In 1946, Beitz assumed the office of deputy chairman of the British Zonal Insurance Control Authority in Hamburg, and in 1949 was appointed chairman of the management board of the Iduna Germania insurance company.

In September 1952, the last private owner of the Krupp enterprise, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, asked Beitz to become his personal chief executive. Beitz, who was fascinated by Krupp's personality, agreed and commenced work at Krupp in Essen on November 1, 1953.

As stipulated in the last will of Alfried Krupp, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Foundation was founded upon his death 1967 and became active in 1968. The non-profit Krupp-Foundation is committed to serving the public. From its beginning, Beitz served as the foundation’s chairman and he was an executive member of its Board of Trustees. With its funds, the foundation supports projects in Germany and abroad in the areas of science, education, health, sport and the fine arts.