Background
Michael Poliza grew up in Hamburg, Germany.
Michael Poliza grew up in Hamburg, Germany.
At the age of 17, he left Germany for the United States of America as an exchange student, where he studied Computer Sciences.
A prominent child actor, he appeared in over 100 television shows and films, including Tadelloeser und Wolff, Hänsel und Gretel (1971) and Unsere heile Welt (1972) while continuing his schooling. 1980s
At the age of 23, Poliza founded his first Information Technology company, importing International Business Machines Corporation computers to Germany. Three years later, Poliza claims he had already earned his first million dollars as he expanded his business in the Information Technology sector.
1990s
In 1997 he sold his Information Technology companies, invested in stock, and began focusing on digital media.
When the dot.com crash happened, Poliza lost much of his fortune. With what was left, he bought the boat "Starship" in 1998.
Accompanied by journalists and photographers, he undertook the "Millennium Starship Voyage" to document the state of the world’s wild locations at the turn of the millennium. The book of the voyage, containing 50% pictures taken by him, became a bestseller.
2000s
Returning to Hamburg in June 2001, Poliza sold the Starship to the United States actor Gene Hackman.
The book AFRICA was launched in 2006, followed by the book EYES OVER AFRICA in 2007. Poliza moved back to Hamburg in 2009, published the book ANTARCTIC, opened a gallery and was named ambassador of the World Wildlife Fund (World Wildlife Fund). 2010s
The books South Africa and Classic Africa were published in 2010, KENYA in 2011.
Parallel to his photography, Poliza launched a tailored-tour company, Michael Poliza Experiences.