Even though the family does not bear the surname of the founder, Carl Bertelsmann, the Bertelsmann Group has been in the hands of the Mohn family for over 120 years. Towards the end of the 19th century, Johannes Mohn married the founder's granddaughter and took over the still small family business. However, it took another two generations and the end of the Second World War before Reinhard Mohn took over the company and expanded it into a global corporation over the following decades. The transition to the next generation is now in full swing. Reinhard Mohn died in 2009, and since then his wife Liz Mohn has been running the foundation and the group. Since 2021, Reinhard Mohn's son Christoph Mohn has held the influential position of chairman of the management company's (BVG) steering committee, and Reinhard Mohn's grandson Carsten Coesfeld has already been installed on the board of directors.
The family has secured its power in the group through the corporate structure built up by Reinhard Mohn. The BVG is the most important body in this regard, as it is here that all voting rights for all shares are bundled. Of the six members of the Administrative Board, three are currently from the Mohn family (Christoph, Brigitte and Liz). Christoph Mohn holds the chair and thus has a veto right, ultimately controlling the entire group.
Another measure taken by Reinhard Mohn to secure his legacy was the establishment of the Bertelsmann Foundation. In 1993, he transferred a large portion of the capital to the foundation, which in turn became the largest shareholder in the group. The foundation is dedicated to projects that promote democracy, education and science. The foundation is regularly criticised for exerting political influence and for failing to make a clear distinction between charitable and commercial interests.
