Reinhard Mohn
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (September 2019) |
Reinhard Mohn | |
---|---|
Born | 29 June 1921 |
Died | 3 October 2009 Steinhagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | (aged 88)
Occupation | Businessman |
Spouses |
Reinhard Mohn (29 June 1921 – 3 October 2009) was a German billionaire businessman and philanthropist.[1] Under his leadership, Bertelsmann, once a medium-sized printing and publishing house, established in 1835, developed into a global media conglomerate.[2][3] In 1977, he founded the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung,[4] which is today one of the largest foundations in Germany, with worldwide reach.[5][6]
Mohn received numerous domestic and international awards, including the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Spain's Prince of Asturias Award.[7][8]
Life
Background
Born in 1921 as the fifth child of Agnes Mohn (née Seippel) and Heinrich Mohn ,[9] Reinhard represented the fifth generation of the shareholding families of Bertelsmann.[10] In 1887, his grandfather, Johannes Mohn , had taken over the management of the printing and publishing house from his father-in-law, Heinrich Bertelsmann , son of Carl Bertelsmann.[11][12]
Raised in a strict Protestant family,
In January 1946, Reinhard Mohn returned to
Family
In 1948, Mohn married Magdalene Raßfeld, whom he knew from his school days.[25] The couple had three children: Johannes, Susanne and Christiane;[26] they divorced in 1982.[27][28] Later that year, Mohn married Elisabeth Scholz,[29] with whom he had had an affair since the 1950s and fathered three children in the 1960s.[30] After the wedding, Mohn adopted their three mutual children: Brigitte, Christoph and Andreas.[31]
Career
Bertelsmann
In 1947, Mohn took over the management of the
In 1971, Mohn transformed the family company into a
In 1981, Mohn moved from the executive board to the supervisory board, which he chaired for another ten years,[47][48] still remaining involved in business operations.[49] At 70, he finally stepped down from his duties, and remained honorary chairman of the supervisory board.[50] From then on, he dedicated his efforts primarily to the Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation.[9][1] In 1999, Mohn transferred his sole control over the voting rights of roughly 90% of Bertelsmann shares to the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft,[51][52] a move designed to ensure the continuity of his company.[53][54][55]
Bertelsmann Stiftung
In 1977, Mohn established the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung,[56] initially endowed with capital of 100,000 Deutsche Mark.[57] Mohn supported the management-driven concept of an operating foundation, independently developing and managing projects.[58] He directed the Bertelsmann Stiftung to help fund the improvement of the Gütersloh City Library and established the Carl Bertelsmann Prize (today the Reinhard Mohn Prize).[59][60]
In the 1980s, the Bertelsmann Stiftung became the key focus of Mohn's corporate citizenship activities.[61] In 1993, the majority of shareholdings in Bertelsmann was transferred to the foundation,[62] making the Bertelsmann Stiftung the largest shareholder in the group.[63] Capital shares and voting rights were strictly separated in the gift agreement, so that neither the foundation nor the group can exert any significant controlling influence over the other.[63]
Mohn massively increased the Bertelsmann Stiftung's budget in the 1990s.[64][65] In addition to projects in Germany, he supported projects in Spain, such as the Fundació Biblioteca d'Alcúdia Can Torró on Mallorca. In 1995, he founded the Fundación Bertelsmann , now based in Barcelona and Madrid, as an independent subsidiary foundation[66] that works to promote dual training to reduce youth unemployment.[67] Founded in 2008, the Bertelsmann Foundation North America, headquartered in Washington, D.C., deals with transatlantic cooperation, among other issues.[68]
In the early years, the founder was the sole Executive Board member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung. In 1979, a managing director was hired; from 1983, Mohn was supported by an
Honors (selection)
- 1981: Honorary Citizen of the City of Gütersloh[75]
- 1987: Friend of the City of Jerusalem, awarded at the Jerusalem Book Fair[76]
- 1992: Induction into the symbolic Hall of Fame of Manager Magazine[77]
- 1994: Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[7]
- 1996: Europäischer Stifterpreis (a European Culture Award )[78]
- 1996: Honorary Member of the Club of Rome[79]
- 1997: Schumpeter Prize[80]
- 1998: Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[7]
- 1998: Prince of Asturias Award[8]
- 1998: Gold Medal of the Association of German Foundations[81]
- 1998: Integration Award of the foundation Apfelbaum Stiftung[82]
- 1998: Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize[78]
- 1999: State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia[83][84]
- 1999: Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit[85]
- 2000: Bernhard Harms Medal[86]
- 2000: Jakob Fugger Medal[87]
- 2001: Honorary Doctorate from the University of Münster[88]
- 2002: Future Prize of the CDU Social Committees[89][90]
- 2003: Teddy Kollek Award of the Jerusalem Foundation[91]
- 2005: Honorary Citizen of the City of Alcúdia, Mallorca[92]
- 2007: German Entrepreneur Award for his lifetime achievement[93]
- 2010 (postmortem): Gold Medal of the Balearic Islands[94]
Published works
From the late 1980s on, Reinhard Mohn was also involved in journalistic activities as an essayist and nonfiction book author.
Miscellaneous
In 1991, on the 70th birthday of Reinhard Mohn, the Bertelsmann Executive Board established a Reinhard Mohn Endowed Chair for Corporate Governance, Business Ethics and Social Evolution at the private University of Witten/Herdecke.[111]
In 2006, Mohn created the Reinhard Mohn Foundation , an eponymous foundation bearing his name, which has been run since 2010 by his son, Christoph Mohn.[112][113] After the senior Mohn's death, the foundation gained shareholdings in Bertelsmann, which Reinhard Mohn had held via an intermediary company.[114]
In 2010, the University of Witten/Herdecke honored Mohn by establishing an Institute for
In 2011, the Bertelsmann Stiftung awarded the first Reinhard Mohn Prize,[119] which upholds and advances the tradition of the Carl Bertelsmann Prize.[120] This award honors internationally renowned individuals for forward-looking solutions to societal and political challenges.[121]
Criticism
Mohn was criticized for how he dealt with the
In 2010, author and journalist Thomas Schuler criticized a "tax-saving interrelationship" between Bertelsmann and the foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung. The structures set up by Mohn were alleged to have saved his family billions in inheritance tax.[129] However, this tax would not have been owed, according to the prevailing legal view at that time.[130][131]
See also
- List of billionaires
References
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{{citation}}
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