Partner Power, Personal Risk Minimized

“In his investments, Nicolas Berggruen has so far not invested his own money, but first set up funds with his partners; only after that did he go on a shopping spree. Johannes Neckermann, son of mail-order tycoon Josef Neckermann, experienced the takeover of the Neckermann department stores by Karstadt firsthand during the Frankfurt "Nights of the Long Knives" in 1976.”

“While Nicolas Berggruen turns to politics, his team works reliably in the background like Swiss clockwork. There isn't a single investment in his empire where Nicolas Berggruen stands alone as financier. He always has partners at his side who handle the executive operational tasks for him. And no matter which stone you turn at his "construction sites" – a word, incidentally, that he likes and uses frequently – a complexly woven network is revealed underneath.”