on 21 january 2004, at a ceremony at the hasso plattner institute celebrating the 60th birthday of its founder, german chancellor gerhard schröder made the following comments on plattner’s achievements: "we need more hasso plattners and more saps in order to get germany moving again economically." according to the chancellor, plattner created an international corporation proving "that german companies can be at the top of the technological hierarchy worldwide". in an interview in august 2004, the munich-based management consultant roland berger named hasso plattner as one of the five germans who have made the greatest impression on him. in the "welt am sonntag" article berger pointed out how plattner founded, built up and adapted sap to a changing market was a "master achievement". in 2016, plattner was estimated to be worth us$10.8 billion by "forbes".