Axel Sven Springer

Logo of Axel Sven Springer

Axel Sven Springer is the son of Axel Springer Jr., the eldest son of publisher Axel Cäsar Springer and his second wife Erna Frieda Berta Holm. Axel Springer Jr. worked as a photojournalist under the pseudonym Sven Simon. On January 3, 1980, Axel Springer Jr. committed suicide. His son Axel Sven Springer dealt with the tragedy in his book “Das neue Testament” (The New Testament), published in 2012. In 1985, Axel Sven Springer was kidnapped from his boarding school.

The other descendants of Axel Cäsar Springer were paid off by his widow Friede. His grandchildren Ariane Melanie and Axel Sven, who together held a 9.8 percent stake in Springer, sold around 3.7 percent of their shares when KKR and CPPIB acquired the company in 2019. According to Reuters calculations, the package is worth around €250 million at the takeover price of €63. Today, only Axel Sven Springer still holds shares in the company.

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  • Friede Springer
    became Axel Springer's fifth wife in 1978. The father of Ariane Melanie and Axel Sven Springer was Axel Springer junior (pseudonym: Sven Simon), the eldest son of Axel Caesar Springer and his second wife Erna Frieda Berta Holm. Dr Friede Springer holds 22.5% of Axel Springer SE via investment companies. A further 1% is held by 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 board of the Friede Springer Heart Foundation.