Nicolas Berggruen

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Nicolas Berggruen (born 10 August 1961) is a billionaire investor and philanthropist.

A dual American and German citizen, he is the founder and president of Berggruen Holdings, a private investment company and the Berggruen Institute, a think tank that works on addressing governance issues as well as the cultures and philosophies behind political systems.

Through the Berggruen Institute he is also a co-founder, with the Washington Post, of The WorldPost, a media publication dedicated to global issues.

Early life and education

Nicolas Berggruen was born in Paris, France. He is the son of art collector and dealer Heinz Berggruen and actress Bettina Moissi. His father was of German-Jewish descent, and his mother, a Catholic of German and Albanian descent. Heinz Berggruen was considered one of the world's greatest art collectors, having donated and sold works by Picasso, Klee, and Matisse to the Berggruen Museum in Berlin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the National Gallery in London. His mother played the female lead in the 1948 German Holocaust film Long Is the Road. Although born in France, Berggruen's first language is German. He is also fluent in English and French. Berggruen has two older half-siblings from his father's first marriage: John, an art dealer, and Helen, an artist. Furthermore, he has a full younger brother, Olivier, an art historian and curator. Berggruen credits his father for his competitive drive: "What I learned from my father [was] passion and focus... He valued quality over quantity".

Nicolas and Olivier attended elementary school at the École alsacienne in Paris. They were raised Catholic, their mother's faith. Growing up in Paris in the 1970s, Berggruen spent his time reading. He was particularly drawn to the work of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and the issues of political governance. Berggruen attended high school at Le Rosey in Switzerland. He became interested in Marxism and by 15 had written a constitution for a utopian country. Berggruen refused to learn English at the time because he thought it was "the language of imperialism." Berggruen had a rebellious nature, frequently challenging teachers on intellectual matters and eventually, he was expelled from the school for sedition. At 16, Berggruen passed his state exams in Paris before completing a baccalauréat in Paris as a candidat libre. In 1978, Nicolas moved to London, where he became fluent in English and trained under property developer and philanthropist Lord Max Rayne at London Merchant Securities, known today as LMS Capital Plc.

In 1979, 17-year old Berggruen moved to New York to attend New York University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Finance and International Business in 1981.

Personal life

In the early 2000s, Berggruen was dubbed "the homeless billionaire" when he sold off his residential properties and belongings. At 40 years old, he did not own a house, a car, or a watch; instead, he traveled – staying in different hotels with only a small bag of clothes and his BlackBerry. He retained his Gulfstream IV private jet, noting that it is too "practical" to dispense. In an interview with Bloomberg, Berggruen stated: "I'm not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that's enough".

From 2012, Berggruen purchased several apartments in the Sierra Towers, where he lived for several years. In 2016, he had two children born from one egg donor and two surrogates. He lives with them in Los Angeles. Berggruen bought a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) home in Holmby Hills for $42 million in 2017. In 2021, he acquired the Gordon Kaufmann-designed, 29,000 sq ft (2,700 m2) Hearst estate in Beverly Hills for $63.1 million, at the time the most ever paid for a home at an auction.

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Investment career

Berggruen joined the investor Sid Bass' real estate arm after receiving his degree. Berggruen was a Principal at Jacobson and Co. between 1983 and 1987.

Berggruen returned to New York and began investing in real estate and public stocks, later expanding to private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds.

Berggruen Holdings, Inc. was established in 1984 as an investment vehicle for the Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Trust. Berggruen Holdings primarily operates as a long-term investor/owner for their portfolio companies. Berggruen began purchasing distressed real estate throughout New York City in the mid-1980s and has since made over 100 direct control and real estate investments around the world. He and Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Jr. co-founded Alpha Investment Management, a hedge fund, in 1988. The firm soared to around $2 billion under management before the founders reportedly sold to Safra Bank in 2004.

Berggruen acquired the troubled German retailer Karstadt in 2005, investing over 65 million euros (US$83 million) and saving over 25,000 employees. Berggruen said of the importance of the retail brand, "We want to bring a brand with a huge presence all around Germany and restore it to all its former glory" in 2010. He spent 400 million euros to bring the company out of bankruptcy in 2010.

Berggruen purchased a minority interest in GLG Partners in 2007 through Freedom Acquisitions, his first investment vehicle to go public in 2006. Berggruen purchased Pearl Insurance in 2009 with his second fund, Liberty Acquisitions, and in 2010, he acquired a majority stake in the Spanish media company Prisa.

Berggruen, alongside business partner Martin Franklin and investor William Ackman, launched Justice Holding, a company that raised £900 million in its initial public offering in 2011. Justice interests acquired a 58% stake in Burger King Worldwide, Inc. in 2012.

Berggruen Holdings began purchasing residential and commercial real estate around the world in Tel Aviv, Berlin, Istanbul, and the American West Coast in the mid-2000s. In Berlin, Germany, the company owned and operated a more than 90 buildings in 2012. Berggruen designed a luxurious-apartment complex on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, with architect Richard Meier. In 2014, the real estate investments became the foundation of Berggruen's NBP Capital, which specializes in investment management, planning, construction, hospitality, and property management services. The market value of NBP Capital in 2020 surpassed $1 billion.

Berggruen, a principal investor and developer in Newark, New Jersey,'s Teachers Village, was a member of Berggruen Holdings in 2012. The project, which was designed by Richard Meier, has redesigned five blocks of downtown Newark.

Berggruen Holdings invested in the East Africa Exchange, a privately funded regional agricultural commodities exchange in East Africa, in 2013. The aim of the transaction is to increase regional market availability and guarantee higher incomes for farmers, especially smallholder farmers. "Agriculture is crucial to Africa's prosperity," Berggruen said, "and therefore, assisting the movement of knowledge and finance within the agricultural sector will be particularly helpful." In addition, Berggruen Holdings, Heirs Holdings, and 50 Ventures joined Africa Exchange Holdings, Ltd. (AFEX) to create Africa Exchange Holdings, Ltd. (AFEX), in order to create a network of commodity exchanges to enhance trade prices and ensure higher salaries for the rural poor.

Berggruen Holdings had offices in Berlin, Istanbul, Mumbai, New York, and Tel Aviv, nine senior executives, owned more than 30 firms in a variety of industries and asset classes by 2011, with nine senior executives, valued at more than € 1.

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