Bertelsmann

Logo of Bertelsmann

The family-owned company was founded in 1835 by Carl Bertelsmann as a small publishing house and print shop in Gütersloh. Bertelsmann became a global corporation under Reinhard Mohn, the fifth generation to manage the company. He established the book club, the foundation and expanded the group to over 100,000 employees. At the end of the 1960s, Bertelsmann acquired a majority stake in Gruner + Jahr and thus became an important player in the media industry. This was followed by the development of the TV business with the founding of RTL, Vox and a stake in n-tv. Bertelsmann also entered the online business early on with shares in AOL and the establishment of BarnesandNobles.com. Other important Group segments are the book business (Random House, Springer Wissenschaftsverlag) and the music industry (BMG). After Reinhard Mohn's death, his wife Elisabeth "Liz" Mohn took over the business, now together with her son Christoph Mohn. Mohn's grandson Carsten Coesfeld is now rumoured to be the next Bertelsmann boss. The Group is active in over 50 countries and employs more than 80,000 people (2023).

Key Facts

Business FormCommercial / For-profit
Legal FormSE & Co. KGaA (partnership limited by shares whose general partner is a European company).
Business SectorsMarketing services; logistics; financial services; cloud solutions for business customers; printing services; learning services; start-up investments

Ownership

Individual Owner

Media Outlets

Other Media Outlets

Other TV Outlets
  • Nitro (1.87%)
  • RTL Super (1.33%)
Other Radio Outlets
  • Hitradio RTL Sachsen (0.6%)
  • 104.6 RTL
  • 105‘5 Spreeradio (0.2%)
  • JAM FM (0.2%)
  • Radio Brocken (0.5%)
  • 89.0 RTL
  • Antenne Niedersachsen (0.9%)
Other Online Outlets
  • Stern.de (1.37%)
  • capital.de
  • rtl.de (0.91%)
  • eltern.de (0.09%)
  • sport.de (0.18%)
  • geo.de (0.34%)
  • gala.de (0.28%)
  • brigitte.de (0.4%)
  • schoener-wohnen.de (0.11%)
other_print_titles
  • ART (0
  • 06%)
  • Brigitte (0.89%)
  • Capital (0.15%)
  • Gala (2.19%)
  • GEO (0.5%)
  • Schöner Wohnen (0.32%)
  • Stern (4.2%)
  • Häuser
  • Couch (0.04%)

Facts

Other Media BusinessesAdvertising sales
  • Ad Alliance GmbH (76%)
Music label
  • BMG (100%)
TV channel
  • RTL Group (76%)
Publishing
  • Gruner + Jahr Deutschland GmbH (76%)
Other Domestic BusinessesLogistics and Supply Chain Solutions
  • Arvato SE (100%)
Financial Services
  • Riverty Group GmbH (100%)
IT Solutions and Consulting
  • Arvato Systems GmbH (100%)
IT Solutions
  • Arvato Limited (100%)
Printing
  • Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH (100%)
Printing company
  • GGP Media GmbH (100%)
  • Vogel Druck und Medienservice GmbH (100%)
Communication services
  • Territory GmbH (100%)
  • Campaign direct services Gütersloh GmbH (100%)
Production and service solutions
  • Sonopress GmbH (100%)
Packaging service provider
  • Topac GmbH (100%)
Marketing
  • Deutschlandcard GmbH (100%)
Education and training in the medical sector
  • Afya (49.2%)
  • Relias Learning GmbH (100%)
Education
  • Alliant International University
Investment Fund
  • Bertelsmann Asia Investments
  • Bertelsmann India Investments
Venture Capital Fund
  • Bertelsmann Digital Media Investment
Other International BusinessesVideo production
  • Freemantle (UK, 76%)
Book Publisher
  • Penguin Random House (USA, 100%)
Founding Year1835
Founder
  • Carl Bertelsmann
    was a printer and lithographer from Gütersloh who laid the foundations for today's global corporation by founding C. Bertelsmann Verlag. In the beginning, the publishing house published missionary, religious writings and songbooks. He was regarded as a devout Protestant and was active on the church council in his home town of Gütersloh and campaigned for the establishment of a Protestant grammar school. Carl Bertelsmann died in 1850, leaving behind five children. His son Heinrich took over the publishing house
Employees80
ContactBertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 270
33335 Gütersloh
Germany
info@bertelsmann.de
+49 (0) 52 41-80-0
www.bertelsmann.de
Tax / ID NumberDE 126 770 390
Revenue€ 20.2 Billion / USD 21.9 Billion (2023)
Operating Profit€ 1.3 Billion / USD 1.4 Billion (2023)
Advertising (in % of total funding)17.5%: € 3.5 Billion / USD 3.8 Billion (2023)
Executive Board
  • Thomas Rabe
    Chairman of the Bertelsmann Executive Board and CEO of RTL Group. Rabe joined the Group in 2000 as CFO of RTL Group. In 2006, he was brought to Gütersloh as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Bertelsmann Music Group. Six years later, he became Chairman of the Executive Board and has been CEO of RTL Group since 2019. Rabe grew up in Brussels and began his career at the European Commission after studying economics. In addition to his work for Bertelsmann, he is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Adidas.
  • Carsten Coesfeld
    Member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann Bertelsmann Investments and Financial Solutions. Coesfeld has been with the Group since 2011 and began his Bertelsmann career as assistant to the CEO. He is a member of the owner family Mohn. This was followed by various positions at subsidiaries until he finally moved up to the Executive Board at the beginning of 2024.
  • Rolf Hellermann
    Bertelsmann's Chief Financial Officer has been with the Group since 2004. After five years at the subsidiary Arvato as CFO and CEO, he was promoted to the Executive Board of the entire Group in 2021.
  • Immanuel Hermreck
    Chief Human Resources Officer since 2015 and previously Head of Group Human Resources for nine years. Hermreck began his career as a consultant in the media sector after studying communications and economics.
Supervisory Board
  • Christoph Mohn
    Chairman of the Supervisory Board and son of Reinhard and Liz Mohn, i.e. a shareholder as part of the founding family in the sixth generation. Mohn is also family spokesperson and Chairman of the Steering Committee (BVG), Chairman of the Board of the Reinhard Mohn Foundation and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner J. Bauer
    Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board , former Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A. for Innovation, Technology, Research and Development.
  • Dominik Asam
    Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.
  • Núria Cabutí
    Chairwoman of the International Executive Representative Committee of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
  • Günter Göbel
    Chairman of the Group Works Council of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
  • Pablo Isla
    Former Chief Executive Officer of Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. (Inditex S.A.).
  • Nitsa Kalispera
    Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, BMG.
  • Bernd Leukert
    Member of the Management Board for Technology, Data and Innovation at Deutsche Bank AG.
  • Gigi Levy-Weiss
    General Partner NfX, Angel Investor.
  • Jens Maier
    Chairman of the Group Works Council RTL Germany.
  • Dr Brigitte Mohn
    Member of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation, partner and daughter of Reinhard and Liz Mohn, and sister of Christoph Mohn.
  • Liz Mohn
    Founder and Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Liz Mohn Foundation and partner of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. Liz Mohn was married to Reinhard Mohn, the founder of the Bertelsmann Foundation, until his death in 2009. As a benefactor, Liz Mohn plays a significant role in the group and in determining the family's assets.
  • Hans Dieter Pötsch
    Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
  • Henrik Poulsen
    Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carlsberg A/S, Senior Advisor of A.P. Møller Holding.
  • Ilka Stricker
    Deputy Chairwoman of the Group Works Council of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
  • Bodo Uebber
    Independent management consultant, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Flix SE, former member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Finance & Controlling / Daimler Financial Services.
Headlines
Active Transparency
company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable
Meta DataThe group holds investments in over 350 companies via the funds of the Bertelsmann Investments division, which are not listed here for practical reasons.
The capital shares of the Bertelsmann Foundation are attributed to the Mohn family, as the founder has extensive powers and control within the foundation.
Sources