Friede Springer
Dr Friede Springer, born Riewerts on 15 August 1942 in Oldsum on the island of Föhr, is the daughter of a master gardener and a home economics manager. After leaving school, she trained as a hotel manager, but broke off her training. In 1965, Friede Springer was employed as a nanny in the house of the publisher Axel Springer in Hamburg-Blankenese. In 1978 she became Axel Springer's fifth wife.
Dr Friede Springer holds 22.5% of Axel Springer SE via investment companies. A further 1% belongs to the non-profit Friede Springer Foundation, of which she is chairwoman of the board. Friede Springer is also chairwoman of the board of the non-profit Axel Springer Foundation and founder and chairwoman of the Friede Springer Heart Foundation. Forbes Magazine estimates her wealth at 3.1 billion US dollars (2021).
Springer maintains good contacts with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She participated in the election of the Federal President on several occasions as a member of the Federal Assembly for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The seven-member board of trustees of the Friede Springer Foundation includes Horst Köhler, former Federal President, and Joachim Sauer, husband of Angela Merkel.
Business
Philanthropy
Friede Springer Foundation (Donor and Chairwoman of the Board) (Germany)
Axel Springer Foundation (Chairwoman of the Board) (Germany)
Friede Springer Heart Foundation (Donor and Chairwoman of the Board) (Germany)
Family & Friends
Affiliated Interests Family Members Friends
are the grandchildren of the publisher Axel Caesar Springer, who died in 1985 and was married to Friede Springer. Their father was Axel Springer junior, the eldest son of Axel Caesar Springer and his second wife Erna Frieda Berta Holm. Axel Springer junior worked as a photojournalist under the pseudonym Sven Simon.
Further Information
Headlines
Sources
Inge Kloepfer: Friede Springer. Die Biographie. Aktualisierte und erweiterte Neuausgabe, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-455-50272-5
