The Ebel family

Logo of The Ebel family

The Ebel family owns a 28.9% stake in Rheinische Post Mediengruppe, one of Germany's most influential media groups. The company is primarily owned by several founder families, including Ebel (formerly Wenderoth), Betz, and Droste. The media group publishes Rheinische Post, the highest-circulation newspaper in the Rhineland, as well as Bonn's General-Anzeiger, and holds a majority stake in the Saarbrücken newspaper group (which includes titles such as Saarbrücker Zeitung and Trierischer Volksfreund).


Today, Martin Ebel represents the family in the third generation, serving both as publisher of the daily newspaper Rheinische Post and as deputy spokesman on the supervisory board of RP Mediengruppe.


The Ebel family's connection to Rheinische Post originates with Anton Betz. Already before the Second World War, Betz was active in the press business, but following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, he was subject to a professional ban. In 1945, the British military administration commissioned Betz to establish a daily newspaper for the Rhineland. He asked his political associates Karl Arnold and Erich Wenderoth to support him in founding Rheinische Post, one of the first and soon most important newspapers of the young Federal Republic.

Media Companies / Groups

Media Outlets

Facts

Other Media Outlets

Print

  • Bergische Morgenpost 
  • Bocholter-Borkener Volksblatt
  • Der Sonntag (Düsseldorf)
  • mein Rheinland
  • Neuß-Grevenbroicher Zeitung 
  • Solinger Morgenpost
  • Top Magazin Düsseldorf
  • Wirtschaft in Nordrhein-Westfalen
  • General-Anzeiger (Bonn) 
  • Saabrücker Zeitung
  • Trierischer Volksfreund

Online

  • www.bergische-morgenpost.de 
  • www.neuss-grevenbroicher-zeitung.de
  • www.rp-online.de
  • www.solinger-morgenpost.de
  • www.top-magazin-duesseldorf.de
  • www.ga.de
  • www.bbv-net.de
  • www.saarbruecker-zeitung.de
  • www.volksfreund.de
Other Media Related Businesses

Printing production

  • Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei GmbH
Affiliated Interests Family & Friends
  • Martin Ebel
    Martin Ebel, representing the Ebel family in the third generation in the management circle of Rheinische Post Mediengruppe, serves both as publisher of the daily newspaper Rheinische Post and as second deputy spokesman on the supervisory board of the media group. Ebel is the grandson of one of the founding fathers of Rheinische Post, Erich Wenderoth (1896-1993), and son of Wenderoth's daughter Irene Wenderoth-Alt (1948-2024), from whom he assumed leadership of the family in 2021. Following an apprenticeship as a publishing merchant, Martin Ebel studied business administration and completed a master's degree with a focus on communications, multimedia, and market management. According to company information, he has served on the supervisory board and in the shareholder assembly of Rheinische Post Mediengruppe for years.
  • Erich Wenderoth
    Jurist Erich Wenderoth (1896-1993) was a member of the resistance group ""Confessing Church"" during the Nazi era. He worked as a lawyer advocating for the persecuted, served from 1945 on the state board of the Evangelical Church of North Rhine-Westphalia, and was among the co-founders of the CDU in Düsseldorf. In 1946, Anton Betz, who had been editor-in-chief and managing director of various publishing houses before the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, received one of the first press licenses from the British occupation authorities. He asked his political associates Karl Arnold and Erich Wenderoth for support, and Wenderoth subsequently became one of the founders of Rheinische Post, one of the first and soon most important newspapers of the young Federal Republic.
  • Irene Wenderoth-Alt
    Irene Wenderoth-Alt (1948-2024), Erich Wenderoth's daughter and mother of Martin Ebel, was also active in the media group as shareholder, supervisory board member, and publisher of Rheinische Post. Following studies in evangelical theology, Romance languages, and history, her father ensured that she assumed responsibility for the company early on. In obituaries, Wenderoth-Alt was honored as a woman who "shaped Rheinische Post over decades and decisively promoted its development into a media group.
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Headlines
Meta Data

The information comes primarily from publicly available registers and media reports. Some of the information may therefore be out of date.

Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Liste der Gesellschafter der Rheinische Post Mediengruppe GmbH
    File
  • Liste der Gesellschafter der Befa Beteiligungs GmbH
    File