He was a son of George Herman of Wied (1640-1690) and his second wife Johanna Elisabeth of Leiningen-Westerburg (1659-1708).
On 27 August 1692,[1] he received the Upper part of the County of Wied from his paternal grandfather Frederick the Elder, initially under guardianship.
He served in the army of Landgrave Ernest Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, where he climbed to the rank of Rittmeister.
His underage son John Louis Adolph succeeded him as Count of Wied-Runkel.
On 29 August 1704 in Detmold, he married Sophia Florentina (8 September 1683 – 23 April 1758), a daughter of Count Simon Henry of Lippe-Detmold.