Hubert Burda
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Hubert Burda (born 9 February 1940) is a German
billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
publisher. He is the owner, publisher and
general partner General partner is a person who joins with at least one other person to form a business. A general partner has responsibility for the actions of the business, can legally bind the business and is personally liable for all the partnership's debts an ...
of
Hubert Burda Media Hubert Burda Media Holding is a German media group with headquarters in Offenburg. It originated as a small printing business, founded by Franz Burda Snr in Philippsburg, in 1903. In 1986, the corporate group was divided up between Franz Jnr, ...
, a global media company of more than 600 media products, including websites, print magazines and other brands. It operates in 20 countries, predominantly in Germany and the UK. Its brands include ''
Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
'', ''
Bunte ''Bunte'' (company's preferred spelling in capital letters) is a German-language weekly celebrity gossip magazine published by Hubert Burda Media. The first edition was published in 1948 under the name ''Das Ufer''. Under the leadership of Huber ...
'' and ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
''. Burda is chairman of the conference
Digital Life Design Digital Life Design (DLD) is a global conference network, organized by Munich-based DLD Media, a company of Hubert Burda Media. In 2005, Stephanie Czerny founded DLD as an annual conference scheme. Its main purpose is to connect business, creati ...
(DLD), which takes place annually in January in Munich. ''Forbes Magazine'' estimates his net worth at $4 billion.


Early life

Burda is the youngest son of the publishing couple
Franz Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...
and
Aenne Burda Aenne Burda (28 July 1909 – 3 November 2005), born Anna Magdalene Lemminger, was a German publisher of the Burda Group, a media group based in Offenburg and Munich, Germany. She was one of the symbols of the German economic miracle. Biograp ...
, alongside his older brothers Franz and Frieder. As a sixth-form pupil he took painting lessons daily and hoped to become a painter, against his father's wishes. His father permitted him to study art history only on condition that he wait until after the age of 25 to begin. Burda attended the
Ludwig Maximilians University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
in Munich, where he studied
art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
with
Hans Sedlmayr Hans Sedlmayr (18 January 1896, in Szarvkő, Kingdom of Hungary – 9 July 1984, in Salzburg) was an Austrian art historian. From 1931 to 1932 and from 1938 onwards, he was a member of the Nazi Party. Positions as a University Professor Sedlm ...
, as well as archaeology and sociology. He earned his doctorate in art history before the age of 26; his dissertation was titled ''Die Ruine in
Hubert Robert Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...
's Pictures''. After several
trainee A trainee is commonly known as an individual taking part in a trainee program within an organization after having graduated from higher and technical courses. A trainee is an official employee of the firm that is being trained to the job they wer ...
ships in US
advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
and publishers, Burda worked until 1974 as publishing director of the Burda magazine . As an independent project, in 1969 he founded the magazine ''m - The Magazine For Men''.


Burda Holding

Burda assumed the role of sole shareholder and CEO of Burda Holding in 1987. In 1988, he recruited the editorial director of ''Bild-Zeitung'', Günter Prinz, from
Springer-Verlag Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...
. In addition to the program magazine ''Super TV'', Burda also established ''
SUPERillu ''SUPERillu'' is a weekly German yellow-press magazine from Berlin, which is well-read in Eastern Germany. History and profile ''Superillu'' was founded in summer 1990 in East Berlin. The first edition appeared on 23 August 1990, six weeks before ...
'', the magazine with the largest circulation in what was then East Germany, launching six weeks before
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
. In 1993, Burda collaborated with Helmut Markwort to develop the news magazine ''
Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
,'' a rival to ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
.'' In 1999, Burda renamed the holding company to Hubert Burda Media. Under his father the firm's revenues were split broadly equally between printing and publishing, but under Hubert the firm significantly expanded its digital and international operations, including joint ventures with
Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...
,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and Rizzoli and international expansion into countries such as Singapore, Thailand, India, Russia.


Current operations

In 2018, Hubert Burda Media employed 12,369 staff and achieved revenues of €2.66 billion in its four divisions (Digital Brands National, Media Brands National, Media Brands International and Print). Burda's German publishing arm generated over €650million, reaching approximately three-quarters the German population. The firm's international division recorded turnover of €413 million.


Career and memberships

As of April 2019, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' estimated Burda's net worth at US$4 billion. He is the third richest publisher in Germany, after
Friede Springer Friede Springer (born Friede Riewerts on 15 August 1942 in Oldsum on the island of Föhr) is a German publisher and widow of Axel Springer. She is the main owner of the Axel Springer SE media conglomerate, and thus of Europe's largest newspaper ' ...
and
Elisabeth Mohn Elisabeth Mohn (née Beckmann, born 21 June 1941) is a German billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist. She was married to Reinhard Mohn until his death in 2009. Liz Mohn represents the fifth generation of the family that founded and cont ...
. Burda stepped down as CEO in 2010. He has given Burda Media shares to his two children; Elisabeth and Jacob each now hold 37.4% of the company, leaving him with 25.1%.


Memberships

* Member of the Advisory Council of the Association Against Forgetting - For Democracy * Founder of the Academy of the Third Millennium * Founder of the ''Iconic Turn'' lecture series, discussing the impact of images, photographs, mass media and technologies on culture, society and science * President of the VDZ Academy of the Association of German Magazine Publishers * Co-founder of European Publishers Council (EPC) * Panel member of the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
, Davos *Former chairman of the
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
* Founder of the Hubert Burda Center for Innovative Communication at
Ben-Gurion University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
of Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel * Initiator of the project "Godfather for Tolerance" in support of the Jewish Center Munich, on Jakobsplatz * Chairman of the Board of Trustees Germany Foundation Integration


Philanthropy

In 1975, Burda initiated the
Petrarca-Preis Petrarca-Preis was a European literary and translation award named after the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch. Founded in 1975 by German art historian and publisher Hubert Burda, it was primarily designed for contemporary ...
. It was awarded to contemporary poets and translators from 1975 to 1999 and from 2010 to 2014. It was succeeded from 1999 to 2009 by the Hermann Lenz Prize, before reverting to the Petrarca Prize from 2010 to 2014. From 1987 to 1995, Burda supported the Petrarca Translator Prize for Literary Translations. Between 1988 and 1995, he supported the Nicolas Born prize for lyrics. In 1997, he founded the Corporate Art Prize for the cultural engagement of companies and initiatives. In 1999, he founded the Hubert Burda Foundation, dedicated to literature, international understanding, art, culture and science. In the same year he also created the Hubert Burda Prize for Young Poetry from Eastern Europe. In 2001, Burda established the
Felix Burda Foundation The Felix Burda Foundation is a German charitable foundation based in Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearl ...
, dedicated to the early detection and prevention of
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. The foundation was named in memory of his son Felix, who died of the disease. In 2005, together with the city of Offenburg, Burda donated the 2005 . Since 2006 Burda has supported the . The award aims to encourage the work of young women in the media. It is given at Burda's ''Digital, Life, Design'' conference.


German-Jewish reconciliation

Burda has been decorated by German-Jewish interest groups for his promotion of German industrial reparations. He has been active in building connections between Jews and non-Jews in Germany, promoting close ties with Israel and supporting the revival of Jewish life in his home city of Munich. He is an Honorary Senator of the College of Jewish Studies in Heidelberg. In October 1999, he received the Interfaith Gold Medallion from the
International Council of Christians and Jews The International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) is an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries worldwide engaged in the Christian-Jewish dialogue. Founded as a reaction to the Holocaust, many groups of theologians, hist ...
for his services to German–Jewish reconciliation. In 2005, together with German publishing houses, he initiated the project Paten für Toleranz to support the Jewish Centre Jakobsplatz in Munich. Burda donated €1m to the project. Burda co-financed the production of an English-language CD-ROM of the Shoah Foundation ''(Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation)'' by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. Burda's father, Franz Burda, was a publisher of maps prior to the rise of the Nazi regime and after it took power. Burda senior later became a supplier to the regime and, from 1938, a party member. The Burda publishing company's history during the Third Reich was described by Salomon Korn, a former Vice President of the
Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish communi ...
, as a "case study for coming generations as to the question of guilt and conscience, of entanglement and dealing with the burden of this legacy".


Member of the Federal Assembly

At the suggestion of the CDU, Hubert Burda was a member of the 14th Federal Assembly and participated in the election of the German Federal President on 30 June 2010.


Publications

* '' The Ruin in the pictures
Hubert Robert Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...
s'' Fink, Munich 1967 (Dissertation, Faculty of Arts of the University of Munich, 1967). * (Ed.) ''Weltmarkt der Medien.'' Contributions by Wolfgang R. Langenbucher and Holger Rust. Burda, Munich 1993. * '' The Digital Revolution.'' In: ''Media + Education.'' Jg. 38 (1994), No. 5, ; pp. 268–271. * (Edited with Christa Maar) ''Iconic Turn. The new power of images.'' DuMont, Cologne 2004, . * '' Medial Chambers of Wonder.'' Hrsg. Wolfgang Ullrich. Fink, Munich 2009, . * '' What the Traditional Economy Can Learn From an Internet Entrepreneur.'' In: Ders.,
Mathias Döpfner Mathias Döpfner (born 15 January 1963) is a German businessman and journalist. He is the CEO and 22% owner of media group Axel Springer SE, and president of the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV). Early li ...
,
Bodo Hombach Bodo Hombach (born 19 August 1952) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Early life and education Bodo Hombach was born in Mülheim on the Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia. After training to become a telecommunicati ...
,
Jürgen Rüttgers Jürgen Rüttgers (born 26 June 1951) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as the 9th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2005 to 2010. Education Rüttgers was born in Cologne. He holds degree ...
(ed.): ''2020 - Thoughts on the Future of the Internet.'' Klartext, Essen, 2010. . * '' In medias res. Ten chapters on the Iconic Turn.'' Petrarca / Fink, Munich / Paderborn 2010, . * "The Bunte story - a people magazine in times of upheaval." Pantheon Verlag, Munich 2012, (Paperback), ISBN 978- 3-641-10040-7 (e-book). *Hubert Burda: ''The Colorful Story. A people magazine in times of upheaval.'' Pantheon, Munich 2012 *Hans-Jürgen Jakobs
''That's new, Pussycat ''.
In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung '', 8 November 2012 (briefing

* ''Notes on the Digital Revolution 1990-2015: How the Media Change '', Petrarca Verlag, Munich 2014,
world / new-book-burdas-notes-to-digital-revolution / 11095832
wiwo.de, news release 9 December 2014. * "Digital Horizons: Strategies for New Media", Petrarca Verlag, Munich 2016, . * '' Landwege - Seewege'', Petrarca Verlag, Munich 2017 * '' Walk with Hubert Burda: Origin. Black Forest.'', By Elmar Langenbacher, 2017, .


Literature

* Judith Betzler (ed.): ''Hubert Burda. Art and media; Festschrift, 9 February 2000.'' Petrarca, Munich 2000. *
Gero von Boehm Gero von Boehm (born 20 April 1954 in Hanover; full name Kurt-Gero von Boehm-Bezing) is a German director, journalist and television presenter. Life Gero von Boehm grew up in Heidelberg and studied law and social studies at the Heidelberg Univer ...
: ''Hubert Burda. 11 June 2002 ''. Interview in: ''Encounters. People pictures from three decades ''. Collection Rolf Heyne, Munich 2012, , pp. 289–297. * Gisela Freisinger: ''Hubert Burda. The Medienfürst.'' Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2005, . * '' "Very female oriented". Burda publishing house: the Munich media house is inspired by the aggressiveness.'' In: ''
Manager Magazin ''Manager Magazin'' (stylized as ''manager magazin'') is a German monthly business magazine focusing on business, finance and management based in Hamburg, Germany. History and profile ''Manager Magazin'' was first published on 1 November 1971. ...
.'' 35, 2, 2005, p. 20
'' ... but he was not like that. '
In:' 'Offenburger Tageblatt' ', 23 January 2007 (Interview with Burda by Jürgen Rohn). * Stefan Niggemeier
-1408790
In: ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
.'' 24 January 2007.


Films

* ''Hubert Burda. Between rebellion and duty.'' Documentary, Germany, 2006, 45 min., Written and directed by Kathrin Pitterling, Produced by
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...
, Series: The Heirs, Part 3, First broadcast: 22 January 2007. * ''
Gero von Boehm Gero von Boehm (born 20 April 1954 in Hanover; full name Kurt-Gero von Boehm-Bezing) is a German director, journalist and television presenter. Life Gero von Boehm grew up in Heidelberg and studied law and social studies at the Heidelberg Univer ...
meets… Hubert Burda.'' Interview. Germany, 2002, 45 min., Director: Gero von Boehm, Producer: Interscience, First broadcast 24 April 2002 in
3sat In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfie ...
.


Awards

* 1997: Federal Cross of Merit, First Class * 1999: Interfaith Gold Medal of the International Panel of Christians and Jews * 2000: Honorary Professorship of the Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg * 2000: Honorary citizenship of the city of Offenburg * 2000: Honorary Membership of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts * 2000: Medal " Munich shines - the friends of Munich" in gold * 2000: Bavarian Print Media Award * 2002: Great Federal Cross of Merit * 2002: Honorary professor, by the Minister-President of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. * 2004: Future Prize of the Christian-Democratic Workforce * 2005: Grand Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic * 2006: Leo Baeck Prize * 2007: Jakob Fugger Medal of the Association of Magazine Publishers in Bavaria * 2008: Medal of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg * 2008: Grand Cross of Merit with star, from President Köhler at Bellevue Palace. * 2009: Honorary Doctor of the Medical Faculty of the LMU Munich * 2009: Ohel-Jakob Medal * 2011: Honorary senator of the College of Jewish Studies * 2012: Officer of the Legion of Honor * 2014: Tolerance Ring of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts * 2014: Award for understanding and tolerance of the Jewish Museum Berlin * 2015: Moses Mendelssohn Medal * 2019: Award of Honorary Citizenship of Munich Burda holds the European Print Media Prize and the Gold Medal Freedom of Speech of the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA). He is a Member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. He also holds a Hermann Lenz Award for German lyrics.


Personal life

Burda married the art historian Christa Maar in 1967. The couple divorced in 1972. Their son Felix (b.1967) died of colorectal cancer in January 2001 (see Felix Burda Foundation). In 1991, Burda married the doctor and actress
Maria Furtwängler Maria Furtwängler-Burda (short version: ; born 13 September 1966) is a German physician and television actress. Early life Maria Furtwängler-Burda is a daughter of architect Bernhard Furtwängler and actress Kathrin Ackermann, great-niece a ...
. They have two children, Jakob (b.1990) and Elisabeth (b.1992).


References


External links

*
Hubert Burda Media

Hubert Burda Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burda, Hubert 1940 births German art historians
Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers ...
German art collectors 20th-century art collectors 21st-century art collectors German billionaires German mass media owners German chief executives Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Living people Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Businesspeople from Heidelberg People from the Republic of Baden Opposition to antisemitism in Germany German Zionists