Friede Springer
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Publishing
- Industry
- Media & Entertainment
- Residence
- Berlin
- Marital Status
- Widowed
Biography
Friede Springer inherited a stake in media giant Axel Springer Verlag from her husband, Axel, following his death in 1985.
Hired as the nanny of his two sons, Springer eventually married Axel, who trained her to take over the business.
Among the largest publishing houses in Europe, Axel Springer is active in over 40 countries. Its newspapers include Bild and Die Welt.
The company acquired TV news station N24 (since rebranded as Welt) and the New York-based digital news outlet Business Insider (now renamed Insider) in 2015.
Axel Springer went public in 1985. In 2020, it went private again in a KKR-funded buyout.
About
To ensure continuity, in 2020 Friede Springer gave a 15% stake in Axel Springer to CEO Mathias Doepfner and sold him an additional 4.1%.

After the delisting and the gift and sale to Doepfner, she now holds 22.5% of the company.