Germany: Making Money Is Fun

For generations, the German hausfrau who prides herself on her cakes and cookies has owed her reputation to Dr. August Oetker. Dr. Oetker's baking powder has helped better her batter since the '90s, and raised its price only once (by 2 pfennigs to 12 for a 17-gram packet). And Herr Doctor's Baking Is Fun has sold 20 million copies—more than any other book in Germany save the Bible.

The name Oetker today is as potent in West Germany's executive suites as it has ever been in the pantry. In a meteoric postwar career, Dr. Oetker's grandson, Rudolph August, 46, has...