Berggruen

"Nathan Gardels is now also one of the veterans of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 1985, he founded the periodical New Perspectives Quarterly, which has been available since 1999 at www.digitalnpq.org and is allegedly read by 35 million people in fifteen languages. This is also the principle that Berggruen follows with his institute: Former heads of state, ministers, and diplomats comment on current world events. Almost forgotten figures like the former head of the UN arms control commission Hans Blix have emerged from obscurity. In New Perspectives Quarterly, the politician, who is now almost 90 years old, explains the similarities between North Korea and Iran. Gardels' "Club of Wise Old Men" aims to provide a spectrum of opinions on conflict topics, just like the Club of Rome. Thus, the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who chaired the influential private US think tank Council on Foreign Relations from 1977 to 1981, at the age of 90, is just as wise and cosmopolitan as Helmut Schmidt, Abolhassam Banisadr, the first elected president of Iran, comments for New Perspectives Quarterly on the Hollywood film Argo, and Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, explains why Arab democracy cannot be of American influence. Alongside the old guard, Nathan Gardels also allows writers such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, w"

"Berggruen explains what he aims to achieve with his institute with a quote from the great Renaissance humanist, Erasmus of Rotterdam: "Kings become wise through the company of wise men, especially among the many affairs of the realm, indeed, 'world merchants,' with whom you have to deal, hardly a day goes by on which you do not spend some time reading books and gladly come into conversation with those ancient sages who are least likely to flatter you.""

"Hoover Treated Wood Products, USA Wood is the number one building material in the USA. The company, founded in 1955 and based in Georgia, is one of the largest wood suppliers in the world. When it ran into trouble, Berggruen set it straight again. The company's uniqueness: It is led by the same professional who also chairs the supervisory board of Karstadt: Jared Bluestein from New York."

"Oreko Mining, Turkey Sounds good, but it's still music of the future: Mining rights for zinc, lead, copper, chrome, and barite quartz. Regarding the 24 Turkish mining licenses listed on the Berggruen homepage, which were acquired in 2007, Bloomberg Businessweek does not yet list any business economic data in their Metals and Mining category. However, it is possible that Berggruen has struck a real "gold vein." The mineral crystal called barite is experiencing strong demand as an important additive in fracking. When liquefied and pumped into the drill holes, this substance breaks up the deep rock layers."

"UEI Global, Agra, India The catering and hospitality industry on the Indian subcontinent is growing at a rapid pace, the need for chefs, food & beverage managers, and hotel managers is immense. Berggruen has them trained at twelve different vocational schools. Even in England, the national dish Fish-and-Chips has been replaced by Massaman Curry. London is urgently looking for Indian chefs!"

"But that Berggruen and Rayne had a good contact with each other is revealed by the career of his son Nicolas: At the unusually young age of 17 (!), right after his graduation, he packs his bags and moves to the English metropolis to do an internship at London Merchant Securities, the financial investment firm of Max and Robbie Rayne – also father and son."

"And his plan works out: for his exhibitions, the vivacious widow lends him numerous works by Klee. She will not give him any as a gift, as she is obsessed with jewelry, exchanging Kandinsky's originals only for jewels from the house of Van Cleef & Arpels. It remains to be noted: Before Berggruen styled himself as a "Picasso friend," he focused on Klee. In doing so, he was eyeing America. There, Klee is still relatively unknown. Berggruen wants to open the eyes of Americans to the genius."

""Here, everyone feels flattered if the cosmopolitan Berggruen asks for an appointment." – It was the same with his father."

"The secretive rivalry between the two also continues in the race during the Karstadt insolvency. Rubenstein was smarter and faster than Berggruen and snatched up the lucrative parent company Primondo, under which Arcandor AG had bundled its mail-order business in 2007: Quelle, Hess, Natur, Bogner, Baby-Walz, Teleshopping, and HSE 24. About 20,000 employees worked for Primondo in 28 countries, nearly as many as for the Karstadt department stores as a whole, and the sales volume was also similar at 3.4 billion euros a year."

"If a potential investor confuses Berggruen's hotel residence with the investment firm of the same name, it is only to Berggruen's advantage."

"In 1995, Berggruen Holdings North America (BHNA) was registered in the British Virgin Islands as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Medici Investment Corporation. In this offshore zone between Panama, the British Virgin Islands, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, the Berggruen family fortune would repeatedly be shifted through new corporate vehicles over the ensuing years. However, the art sales of Heinz Berggruen left telltale traces."

"Surprisingly, so far no one has made an assessment of Berggruen's investments. The existing figures come from the respective purchases of stakes, companies, or real estate. The profits result from sales, rents, or appreciation of the acquired properties. In contrast to other investment companies, Berggruen does not publish balance sheets on his holding's homepage. No diagrams, no forecasts, not even investment offers for interested parties who are considering investing their money with Berggruen can be found there. Moreover, there is no one who provides information about the development of Berggruen's investments. His empire is a mystery, just like Nicolas Berggruen himself."

""If Berggruen sees Karstadt as a long-term investment, as he claims, there is no operational reason for the leasehold easements," quotes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (from 06 July 2010). What Schleyer now suspects has already been expressed by Maurizio Borletti to Bild (from 22 July 2010). The Italian department store owner is involved in the negotiations about Karstadt's rents as a Highstreet investor. "I believe Mr. Berggruen wants to break up Karstadt and sell it off in pieces." Berggruen wants to pocket the proceeds of up to 300 million euros for himself, which is why he also refuses to guarantee to keep the group together."

"How Berggruen intends to improve world politics with this decommissioned leadership troop is hard to imagine. But he is determined to realize his youthful dream. That's why he has no time and no great interest in visiting the Karstadt branches and making a personal assessment of the difficult situation of the famous department store. For him, it's all about politics now. He buys Karstadt like a pig in a poke - in the flickering belief that there is a treasure hidden in that poke. "A German treasure," as Berggruen likes to refer to Karstadt in the press."

"When Berggruen invites to the annual meeting at his father's museum a year later, Margret Mönig-Raane is also among the guests. The museum serves as Berggruen's stage. Here, he can showcase his prestige. Like a king, he is celebrated, the claqueurs applaud. At the same time, preparations for the Karstadt takeover are underway in the background."

"What he expects from it is clear: with Karstadt-Kaufhof, his influence on politics would continue to grow. A goal that coincides with the objectives of his think tank, the Berggruen Institute on Governance. His confidant Gerhard Schröder also sees new perspectives for himself: With Berggruen's support, he wants to position himself as Germany's reformer."

"On Sunday, Christian Boros reciprocates for the splendid Berggruen evening and invites guests to view his art collection. Boros is another useful networker for Berggruen. The owner of a communications agency manages ministries, associations, foundations, and institutions in the development of strategies that align with societal changes – precisely the area Nicolas Berggruen wishes to become active in: »We cater to organizations that want to shape change."

"Thursday, November 18, 2010 Alain Caparros, who has been a new supervisory board member of Karstadt for one month, gives top priority to the search for a new CEO. Currently, Thomas Fox – a temporary solution and Berggruen's confidant – is still managing the business. He is certainly an experienced restructuring expert, but not a specialist for department stores, as he is said to have expressed himself."

"Further staff reductions are not planned. Berggruen intends to maintain all existing jobs for at least two years and invest around 400 million euros in the stores. This is announced by Berggruen's Karstadt Holding. In contrast, the creditors are supposed to initially receive a modest share of three percent of their claims: The 62.7 million euros, which Nicolas Berggruen has so far deposited in an account as a loan, are ready for disbursement."

"This information is in stark contrast to the plan Berggruen announced in Germany. Here he expressly talks about the investment of 400 million euros in the renewal of the Karstadt stores "coming from the cash flow". The approximately 73 million euros mentioned in the New York Times are not, in fact, a capital investment into the Karstadt company, but rather a loan of 65 million euros, which Berggruen had allowed himself to be repaid shortly after the acquisition. Did Berggruen himself manipulate the facts, fib, or boast? Against such accusations, he can easily defend himself with the indication that he was misunderstood by the New York Times. The journalists are to blame."

"More and more former European heads of state are joining Berggruen's institute. It's no secret to whom Berggruen owes this: Gerhard Schröder as the "door opener.""

"However, the decisive argument is monetary: Berggruen has been able to win over Blackstone as a partner. The Metro Group is seeking roughly two billion euros for its Kaufhof chain – an entirely different price range compared to Karstadt."

"The think tank enjoys Berggruen's full attention. Compared to it, Karstadt plays only a subordinate role. The costs of the Paris "Berggruen Conference" are estimated to be about 1.2 million euros. For Berggruen, obviously a trifle. His compulsive urge to interfere in politics is commented on the internet with critical to mocking remarks. The tenor: Berggruen surrounds himself with know-it-alls and incorrigibles. Some have lied to their voters, others have simply failed and were voted out."

"Monday, June 24, 2013 "Karstadt owner Berggruen earns handsomely with Berlin real estate," reports Wall Street Online. Since 2005, his holding company has invested around 300 million euros in the acquisition and renovation of about 100 residential and commercial buildings in Berlin and Potsdam. Their value is now estimated to be around 450 million euros. The most recently published balance sheets of twelve Berggruen real estate companies show a total investment volume of 417.6 million euros at the end of 2011. In mid-May, his holding company purchased another 80,000-square-meter property in Berlin-Schöneberg. The former headquarters of Knorr-Bremse, a manufacturer of brake systems for rail and commercial vehicles, which has been part of Berggruen's real estate holdings since August 2012, is now home to the online retailer Zalando – a competitor to Karstadt."

"At the book presentation in Berlin, such questions are not asked, nor is Karstadt a topic. Most seem to know that Berggruen is not at home in the world of corporate management, the restructuring of companies. Or as Berggruen himself once said to the American news channel Bloomberg: "I realized pretty early on that I would probably be a terrible manager.""

"Der Spiegel will put Berggruen's political ambitions into perspective only weeks later: "Berggruen wanted to, as they say in Berlin, quickly mobilize up to a hundred billion euros in the Eurozone to create five million new jobs. The political professionals would probably have had to work hard to keep from laughing." But Der Spiegel (issue 25/2013) also confirms: "Berggruen is a networker of the highest order.""

"The basis for Berggruen's financial transactions is not New York, but London. There, he learned the tricks of the investment industry at the age of 17. From London, he controls his funds, buys shell companies, and diversifies his holdings. He also orchestrated his investments in India via London. The key figure is the Egyptian Tarek Shoeb, a savvy asset manager."

"Berninghaus met Benko through detours. The German-American investor Nicolas Berggruen, whom Berninghaus calls a "mega close friend," sought contact with Benko in 2012. Two years earlier, Berggruen had presented himself as a good investor for Karstadt's department store business. A billionaire who invested his money in sustainable projects like renewable energies and made everyone believe that he was not only looking at the return but also had society in mind. Berninghaus is said to have advised Berggruen against buying Karstadt at the time. The lifestyle, without a fixed residence, with changing hotels as workspaces, the many parties – this way, Berggruen could not operate a business in Germany. A failure was predicted: After acquiring Karstadt, Berggruen's involvement with the department store ceases. He leaves the management to others, Karstadt continues to incur losses. This is followed by layoffs, investments are at zero, and the smart billionaire increasingly withdraws from the public eye. While Berggruen begins to regret purchasing Karstadt, Berninghaus meets a Signa manager at an evening event in Nuremberg. Berninghaus, then still the trade director of the Swiss chain Migros, starts chatting with the Benko man. In the end, there is a promise to introduce Berninghaus to Benko."