Nicolas Berggruen
Nicolas Berggruen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 August 1961 |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation | Socialite & Businessperson |
| Spouse | Single |
| Children | None |
| Parent(s) | Heinz Berggruen and Bettina Moissi |
| Website | Nicolas Berggruen Institute Berggruen Holdings |
Nicolas Berggruen (born 10 August 1961 in Paris), is the son of famous art collector Heinz Berggruen. Berggruen is the founder and President of Berggruen Holdings, a private investment company and the Nicolas Berggruen Institute, a political think tank. His father Heinz created the Museum Berggruen in Berlin and his second wife was actress Bettina Moissi.
Berggruen attended famous and most expansive boarding school in the world, Le Rosey in Switzerland, and then obtained a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business from New York University.
Forbes magazine estimated Berggruen's net worth at $2.2 billion as of 2010[update]. He made most of his fortune operating businesses. He founded Berggruen Holdings, Inc. in 1984 to act as investment adviser to a Berggruen family trust that has made over 50 control and non-control investments in businesses since inception. Also in 1984, he co-founded Alpha Investment Management, a hedge fund management company that was sold to Safra Bank in 2004.
Prior to founding Berggruen Holdings, Inc., he served as an analyst on the real estate side of the family-held investment firm Bass Brothers Enterprises, and was an associate of Jacobson and Co., Inc., a leveraged buyout company.
Having given up most of his material possessions (other than an art collection and a personal jet), Berggruen owns neither a home nor a car and prefers to live out of hotels. He said: "...for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we're only here for a short period of time. It's what we do and produce; it's our actions that will last forever. That's real value".[3]
His current investment strategy is something he calls "values investing" instead of "value investing". These values investments include windmill farms in Turkey, wheat fields in Australia, and redevelopment of poor inner cities. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.
Berggruen has an interest in architecture and has collaborated with the likes of Richard Meier, Shigeru Ban, and David Adjaye. Nicolas Berggruen is committed to the Arts, focusing on Contemporary Art. He sits on the Board of the Museum Berggruen, the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA), the International Councils of the Tate Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Berggruen now devotes much of his time and energy to the Nicolas Berggruen Institute, which promotes political and intellectual thought. Berggruen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy.
In 2010, he took over German department store group Karstadt, saving it from insolvency.[4][5] In October 2010, he expressed an interest in personally funding and developing a non-partisan committee to restructure California's government and help bring the state out of an ongoing financial crisis.[6]
Berggruen hosts an annual exclusive party at Chateau Marmont, which draws the wealthy and the famous.[7]
References
- ^ "Nicolas Berggruen". topic page. Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000580741
- ^ The Homeless Billionaire
- ^ http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/09/02/berggruen-reaches-final-agreement-karstadt-creditors/
- ^ http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5971166,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- ^ Halper, Evan (2010-10-27). Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-reform-20101027,0,3570918.story?track=rss.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/4184