Born in Bremen, Germany, Maschmeyer grew up in Hildesheim (Lower Saxony) and had a deprived childhood.

[1] In 1978, he completed his Abitur (higher-education entrance qualification) and joined the German Armed Forces for two years.

[citation needed] It went public in 2000, rising in the M-DAX (member of the 100 listed companies) as well as expanding into 11 countries[4] employing approximately 11,000 people.

In a recent study about the fastest growing startups in Germany,[6] his private equity fund is the only one invested in two companies that were ranked in the top 10.

Maschmeyer first invested in Blacklane, a worldwide booking platform for chauffeur-driven limousines with taxi-like pricing, in January 2013.

[citation needed] Today, Carsten Maschmeyer also advises decision-makers on strategies in numerous businesses, e.g. large European banks and insurance companies.

Maschmeyer became a bestselling author through his book entitled "Selfmade - erfolg reich leben" which is about the fundamental rules of success.

Furthermore, his second book "Die Millionärsformel – Der Weg zur finanziellen Unabhängigkeit" also became a bestseller in the first few days following its publication.

[15] Maschmeyer is an honorary senator of the Leibniz University in Hanover and a freelance lecturer at the International School of Management in Munich.

For example, he founded the "AWD Kinderhilfe", having paid all costs in order to ensure that every euro spent will be given to the projects, "Herz für Kinder".

[16] He also donated a helicopter to the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), a voluntary humanitarian organization,[17] and supports the ALS-Gala, Sean Penn's "J/P Haitian Relief Organization", Surgeon-Congress and HOPE Cape Town against AIDS, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

In 2015, Maschmeyer shared his private house in Hanover with two Syrian refugee families for several months in order to help them build new lives in Germany.

[citation needed] Maschmeyer maintains residences in Munich and Hanover, Germany; Côte d'Azur, France and Beverly Hills, California, United States.

He has been married to the German actress Veronica Ferres since 2014 and is the father of two sons from a previous marriage, and a stepdaughter.