Frank Gotthardt

Logo of Frank Gotthardt

Frank Gotthardt is a German software entrepreneur who has amassed a fortune of several hundred million euros through the development and successful marketing of medical software by his company Compugroup. His fortune is estimated at at least 500 million euros (2024). In 2020, it was still 1.4 billion euros. He stepped down from Compugroup's operational business in 2020, but still holds the majority of shares in the group. He is the financier and main shareholder of the new news portal nius.de, which is operated by VIUS SE & Co. KGaA and controlled by VIUS Management SE. Gotthardt is the main shareholder. Achtung, Reichelt! is part of VIUS SE & Co. KGaA and thus under Gotthardt's control. Gotthardt supported Reichelt very early on in setting up his alternative media outlet and rented office space to Rome Medien GmbH, which initially operated Achtung, Reichelt! As financier, supporter, and majority shareholder of VIUS, Gotthardt plays a central role in the development of the alternative, right-wing populist media portal, which also includes Achtung, Reichelt! He describes his efforts as “civic responsibility” and a necessary corrective to the socially left-wing canon of opinion.


Politically aligned with the conservative camp, Gotthardt's investment in Reichelt as a person, his format Achtung, Reichelt!, VIUS, and Nius is seen as an attempt to build a German version of a right-wing news channel modeled on Fox News. In 2023, VIUS was still operating at a loss of 13.8 million euros. Gotthardt is no newcomer to the media business with VIUS: he operates the regional stations DRF 1, TV Mittelrhein, and Westerwald-Wied-TV. As a result of his investments in Nius and VIUS SE & Co. KGaA, Gotthardt's financial and personal involvement in these local stations has declined significantly, according to media reports.


In addition, Frank Gotthardt has become the main shareholder in exxpress.at with 77.33% through VIUS SE & Co. KGaA, a new right-wing Austrian news platform on which Julian Reichelt also publishes articles. Through his shares in VIUS SE & Co. KGaA, Frank Gotthardt holds a 67.3% stake in web eXXpress Medien Holding GmbH, which is behind the new right-wing portal exxpress.at. Among other things, Gotthardt is honorary chairman of the Economic Council of the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate and has also donated large sums to the CDU and the FDP. He is also the main shareholder of the Kölner Haie ice hockey team.

Media Outlets

Facts

Other Media Outlets

TV

  • DRF1
  • TV Mittelrhein
  • Westerwald-Wied-TV
  • Nius TV

Online

  • exxpress.at
  • nius.de 

Radio

  • Nius Radio
Other Media Related Businesses

TV Broadcasting

  • DRF Deutschland Fernsehen Produktions GmbH & Co. KG

 

Online Media

  • web eXXpress Medien Holding GmbH (Austria) (67.3%)
Affiliated Interests Family & Friends
  • Julian Reichelt
    Julian Reichelt was editor-in-chief of Bild, Germany's highest-circulation tabloid newspaper, until 2021. His tenure ended abruptly after allegations of abuse of power and inappropriate behavior led to his departure from Axel Springer. Reichelt then used his media experience to found Rome Medien GmbH, with which he established the format Achtung, Reichelt! in 2022 – with the support of Frank Gotthardt. Together, they created the alternative media cosmos around Nius.
  • Vera Regensburger
    Vera Regensburger is an Austrian manager and lawyer who is considered a close confidante of Sebastian Kurz. From 2017 to 2019, she headed the ÖVP's politics and strategy department and worked in the Austrian Chancellery until 2022. After moving into the business world, she became managing director of AS2K Beteiligungs GmbH, the investment company owned by former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Alexander Schütz. Her role in the media sector is characterized by her senior positions in right-wing conservative portals: In May 2024, she became managing director of the Austrian portal Exxpress.at, and since 2025 she has also been managing director of Vius SE & Co. KGaA in Berlin. Vius is the parent company of the German portal Nius, which is run by Julian Reichelt, financed by German IT entrepreneur Frank Gotthardt, and now holds a majority stake in Exxpress. Regensburg's career thus reflects the shift from the political arena in Austria to the management of media projects closely linked to the networks of Kurz, Schütz, and Gotthardt.
  • Jens Spahn
    Jens Spahn is a German CDU politician who served as Federal Minister of Health from 2018 to 2021 in Merkel's fourth cabinet. Research by the investigative outlet Correctiv documents a professional connection between Spahn and Frank Gotthardt, founder and long-time CEO of medical software company CompuGroup Medical (CGM) and later financier of the NIUS portal. Spahn's spokesperson confirmed a "professional contact" between the two due to their respective roles. The Correctiv investigation shows that CGM is viewed as a beneficiary of Spahn's healthcare digitalization policies, particularly regarding the expansion of the telematics infrastructure (TI), a central project during Spahn's tenure. This connection is characterized as a potential conflict of interest rather than a personal or familial relationship.
  • Eva Hieblinger-Schütz
    Eva Hieblinger-Schütz is an Austrian lawyer, former politician of the ÖVP, and founder and publisher of the right-wing populist portal Exxpress, in which VIUS SE & Co. KgaA, owned by Julian Reichelt and Frank Gotthard, now holds a majority stake of around 77%. After studying law and working as a lawyer, she initially became involved with the NEOS party and then moved to the ÖVP in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, she was deputy chief of staff in the Ministry of Finance under Hartwig Löger and office manager for Secretary General Thomas Schmid. Politically, a possible connection between the large donations made by her husband Alexander Schütz to the ÖVP and his wife's cabinet position was repeatedly discussed, especially by opposition parties and the media. They spoke of a “connection” or proximity to Sebastian Kurz's inner circle, but were unable to provide clear evidence of direct influence or a formal link between donations and positions. In March 2021, she founded the right-wing populist online media outlet Exxpress with Richard Schmitt as publisher and largest shareholder through her investment company, with the aim of offering an alternative to “left-wing mainstream media.” She has also been editor-in-chief since January 2024. At the beginning of 2025, her share was diluted to around 16% after the German Vius Group (parent company of Nius) joined, but she remains the second-largest shareholder. Her husband Alexander Schütz also holds a small share of 1,15% of Exxpress.
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Headlines
Meta Data

The data on the shares in the medium was taken from publicly available sources. These are primarily business documents and contracts, which were accessed through the commercial register. In addition, a number of media reports on the founding and financial structure of NIUS, Rome Medien GmbH and VIUS SE Management were evaluated.

All personal information also comes from publicly available sources.

Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Gründung Rome Medien GmbH
    File
  • Gründung Rome Medien GmbH
    File
  • Gesellschaftsvertrag Vius Management SE
    File
  • Gründung Vius SE & CO. KGaA
    File
  • Liste der Gesellschafter Rome Medien GmbH 2022
    File
  • Liste der Gesellschafter Rome Medien GmbH 2024
    File
  • Umwandlung der Nius SE zur VIUS Management SE
    File
  • Verschmelzungsvertrag Rome Medien GmbH und Vius SE & CO. KGaA
    File
  • Konzernabschluss Vius SE & CO. KGaA 2023
    File
  • Änderung des Gesellschaftsvertrag Vius SE & CO. KGaA 2023
    File