Nicolas Berggruen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicolas Berggruen
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Berggruen in 2017
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| Born | 10 August 1961 Paris, France
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| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation | Investor |
| Children | 2 |
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Nicolas Berggruen (born 10 August 1961) is a very successful investor and a generous giver (philanthropist) who lives in the US. He was born in Paris, France, and holds citizenship in both Germany and the United States. Nicolas Berggruen is the person who started and leads Berggruen Holdings, which is a private company that makes investments. He also helped create and chairs the Berggruen Institute. This institute is a non-profit group that works to solve big problems around the world. In 2014, through the Institute, Berggruen launched Noema Magazine, a publication that explores global issues.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Nicolas Berggruen was born in Paris, France. His father, Heinz Berggruen, was a famous art collector and dealer. His mother, Bettina Moissi, was an actress. Nicolas's father came from a German Jewish family. His mother was Catholic and had both Albanian and German roots.
Heinz Berggruen was known as one of the world's best art collectors. He gave or sold many artworks by famous artists like Picasso, Klee, and Matisse to museums. These museums included the Berggruen Museum in Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Nicolas's mother starred in a German film about the Holocaust called Long Is the Road.
Even though he was born in France, Nicolas's first language was German. He also speaks English and French very well. Nicolas has two older half-siblings from his father's first marriage. They are John Berggruen, an art dealer, and Helen, an artist. He also has a younger brother, Olivier Berggruen, who studies and organizes art shows. Nicolas says his father taught him to be driven and focused. He learned to value quality over just having a lot of things.
Nicolas and Olivier went to elementary school in Paris. They were raised in their mother's Catholic faith. Growing up in Paris in the 1970s, Nicolas loved to read. He was especially interested in the ideas of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. He also thought a lot about how governments work.
Nicolas went to high school at Le Rosey in Switzerland. He became interested in Marxism, which is a way of thinking about society and economics. By age 15, he had even written a plan for a perfect country. Nicolas was a bit rebellious. He often argued with his teachers about ideas. He was eventually asked to leave the school because he challenged the rules too much. At 16, Nicolas passed his state exams in Paris. He then completed a baccalauréat, which is like a high school diploma, on his own.
In 1978, Nicolas moved to London. There, he became fluent in English. He also trained with a property developer named Lord Max Rayne. In 1979, when he was 17, Berggruen moved to New York. He studied at New York University and earned a degree in Finance and International Business in 1981.
Investment Career
Starting in Business
After finishing his degree, Berggruen moved to Philadelphia. He worked for a company that dealt with real estate, which means buying and selling land and buildings. Between 1983 and 1987, he was a key person at another company called Jacobson and Co.
Berggruen Holdings
Berggruen later moved back to New York. With about $250,000 from a trust fund, he started investing. He bought real estate and stocks in public companies. Later, he also invested in private companies and special investment funds.
In 1984, he started Berggruen Holdings, Inc. This company was a way to manage his investments. Berggruen Holdings usually invests for the long term in the companies they own. In the mid-1980s, Berggruen began buying properties that were in trouble in New York City. Since then, he has made over 100 direct investments in companies and real estate all over the world. In 1988, he and Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Jr. started a special investment fund called Alpha Investment Management. This fund grew to manage about $2 billion before they sold it in 2004.
In 2005, Berggruen bought a German retail company called Karstadt for a very small fee of 1 euro. The company was in financial trouble, but he invested over 65 million euros (about $83 million). This saved more than 25,000 jobs. Berggruen said he wanted to bring the well-known Karstadt brand "to all its former glory." By 2010, he had spent 400 million euros and helped the company get out of bankruptcy.
Berggruen also made other big investments. In 2007, he bought a share in a fund group called GLG Partners. In 2009, he bought Pearl Insurance. In 2010, he bought a large part of a Spanish media company called Prisa for about $900 million.
In 2011, Berggruen launched another investment company called Justice Holding. This company raised a lot of money from investors. In 2012, Justice Holdings bought a large share (29%) in Burger King Worldwide, Inc.
In the mid-2000s, Berggruen Holdings started buying homes and business properties around the world. These were in places like Tel Aviv, Berlin, Istanbul, and the American West Coast. By 2012, the company owned over 90 buildings in Berlin, Germany. In Tel Aviv, Berggruen worked with a famous architect to design a luxury apartment complex. In 2014, these real estate investments became the basis for Berggruen's NBP Capital. This company specializes in managing investments, building new properties, and managing hotels. By 2020, NBP Capital was worth over $1 billion.
In 2012, Berggruen was a main investor and developer in Teachers Village in Newark, New Jersey. This project, designed by Richard Meier, helped to improve five blocks in downtown Newark.
In 2013, Berggruen Holdings invested in the East Africa Exchange. This is a privately funded market for farm products in East Africa. The goal is to make markets work better and help farmers, especially small ones, earn more money. Berggruen said that helping information and money flow in farming would be very useful for Africa's success.
By 2011, Berggruen Holdings had offices in many cities around the world. It owned more than 30 companies in different industries and was valued at over 1.5 billion euros.
Berggruen Institute
In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen started the Berggruen Institute. This is an independent "think tank," which means it's a group of experts who study and suggest solutions for important issues. The Institute aims to improve political and social systems. It focuses on topics like how governments should be run, economic systems, and how technology affects the world. To help with these issues, Berggruen first put $100 million into the Institute. Later, in 2016, he gave it another $500 million.
Berggruen started the Institute after holding many discussions in California. These talks aimed to solve California's growing debt problems. The discussions led to the Think Long Committee for California. This group brought together people from different political sides to reform California's government. Important figures like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt supported the effort. Their work led to a new law to change California's voting system, which the governor signed in 2012.
Institute Projects
Through the Institute, Berggruen has started several projects to improve government. One is the 21st Century Council, which focuses on global challenges. Another is the Council for the Future of Europe, which supports work on European integration. Members of the 21st Century Council include many former leaders of countries, like Tony Blair and Nicolas Sarkozy.
In 2015, Berggruen announced the start of the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Center. This center works with top universities like Peking, Stanford, and Oxford. It brings together smart thinkers from around the world to consider how culture and ideas shape political thinking. The Center also offers a special program for scholars from Chinese and American universities. It gives out an annual $1 million prize for philosophy, chosen by an international group of judges.
Institute Campus
In 2017, Berggruen bought a large piece of land (450 acres) in the Santa Monica Mountains. This land overlooks Los Angeles. He plans to build a Scholars’ Campus there, which will be about 13,700 square meters. This campus will be a home for the Center's educational programs, fellows, and scholars. Famous architects are designing the campus. The campus, named Monteverdi, will use only about 22 acres of the land. The remaining 95% will be kept as protected open space.
Philosophical Views
Ideas on Democracy
Nicolas Berggruen believes in making democracy better. His ideas include having a stable relationship between the US and China. He also thinks people should participate in government without being too extreme (populism). He believes it's important to deal with climate change. Another idea he supports is "universal basic capital." This means making sure everyone has enough money to live comfortably, no matter if they have a job or not. His views on democracy call for a political culture where everyone is included. He also supports a positive kind of nationalism. Berggruen says: "Democracy is really about giving individuals a place in society, a voice—respect, in some ways—equality as humans."
Published Books
In 2012, Berggruen and Nathan Gardels wrote a book called Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century: A Middle Way Between West and East. The main idea of the book is that short-term thinking and extreme popular movements have slowed down progress in Western democracies. Meanwhile, many Eastern countries, especially China, could benefit from adding popular support to their systems. The book was first published in English and then translated into many other languages. The Financial Times newspaper named it one of their "Best Books of 2012."
In 2019, Berggruen and Gardels published their second book, Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism. In this book, the authors suggest changing how democratic governments work. They want to make sure everyone has good living conditions. They argue that as technology replaces jobs, a person's basic needs should not depend on whether they are employed.
Philanthropy
Nicolas Berggruen has promised to give away most of his money through the Nicolas Berggruen Charitable Trust. In 2010, he joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's The Giving Pledge. This is a promise by wealthy people to give away most of their money to help solve important problems in society.
Art Collection and Involvement
Nicolas Berggruen's father was a very important art dealer and collector. He left a legacy of art donations to many museums. Nicolas's youngest brother, Olivier Berggruen, is an art historian and curator. Nicolas himself was an active art collector in the 1980s and 1990s when he lived in New York City. He collected works by artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Nicolas believes that collecting art should be guided by what you like and what you find interesting.
Berggruen is the head of the Board of the Berggruen Museum in Berlin. He is also a member of several important art organizations around the world. These include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
In cooperation with LACMA, Berggruen has been buying art specifically for the museum. For example, in 2006, he bought a moving sculpture by Chris Burden called Metropolis II. He then lent it to LACMA for a long time.
In 2021, Berggruen agreed to buy the Casa dei Tre Oci in Venice, Italy. He plans to use this space to host discussions, workshops, and art shows with major museums. In 2022, he also bought the Palazzo Diedo in Venice. This building will focus mainly on special art projects by artists.
Associations and Awards
Nicolas Berggruen is a member of many important groups. These include the Council on Foreign Relations, which discusses international issues. He is also a director on the Board of the Pacific Council on International Policy. In 2013, he was named a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Center for European Studies. He is also a member of the Brookings Institution's International Advisory Council and the NYU President's Global Council. In 2014, he joined the Leadership Council at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard University's Global Advisory Council. He is also a trustee of the Asia Society. He is a member of the World Economic Forum, which brings together leaders to discuss global issues.
Berggruen was honored by his old university, NYU Stern, in 2016. He received an award for his dedication to business and public service. In 2018, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the United States.
Personal Life
In the early 2000s, Nicolas Berggruen was sometimes called "the homeless billionaire." This was because he sold all his homes and belongings. At 40 years old, he didn't own a house, a car, or even a watch. Instead, he traveled a lot, staying in different hotels with only a small bag of clothes. He did keep his private jet, saying it was too "practical" to get rid of. In an interview, Berggruen said: "I'm not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that's enough."
Starting in 2012, Berggruen bought several apartments in the Sierra Towers, where he lived for several years. In 2016, he had two children. They were born using an egg donor and two surrogates. He now lives with his children in Los Angeles. In 2017, Berggruen bought a large home (about 1,858 square meters) in Holmby Hills for $42 million. In 2021, he bought the famous Hearst estate in Beverly Hills for $63.1 million. This was the most ever paid for a home at an auction at that time. The property was renamed the Beverly Estate in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Nicolas Berggruen para niños
