August von Finck Jr.
August von Finck Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 March 1930 Munich, Germany |
| Died | 28 November 2021 (aged 91) London, England |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Francine von Finck |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | August von Finck Sr. |
August von Finck Jr. (11 March 1930 – 28 November 2021) was a Swiss-based German billionaire businessman. When he died, his net worth was estimated at US$8.8 billion.
Von Finck Jr. supported political parties and initiatives in the right-wing and libertarian partys, groups and persons throughout his life.
Early life
[edit]Von Finck was born in 1930 in Munich, the son of August von Finck Sr., and the grandson of Wilhelm von Finck, who started a private bank in 1870 that became Merck Finck & Co.[1][2]
Career
[edit]In February 2020, Von Finck sold the majority of his stake in Switzerland's SGS SA, one of the world's largest testing and inspection companies. He sold 960,000 shares valued at $2.4 billion.[3]
According to Forbes, he had a net worth of US$8.8 billion when he died.[4]
Other interests
[edit]The German state government of Baden-Württemberg authorized the sale of an incunable about Medieval history to him in 2008. The price was about Euro 20 million.[5]
Supporter of Far-right party
[edit]The shy billionaire supported political parties and initiatives in the right-wing and libertarian milieu throughout his life.
In the 70s and 80s he supported Franz Josef Strauß (CSU).[6] At the beginning of the 1990s he supported the first anti-euro party, the League of Free Citizens, with 4.3 million euros. He later financed the “Citizens' Convention” project around today's AfD politician Beatrix von Storch with a sum of millions.[6]
It is likely that Finck was a financial supporter of the German far right party AfD.[7][8] An agent of the billionaire was apparently involved in the conception of the AfD-affiliated newspaper “Deutschland Kurier”.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Von Finck was married to Francine Le Tanneux von Saint Paul.[2] They had four children and lived in Weinfelden Castle in Thurgau canton, Switzerland.[1][2] His eldest son is August François von Finck.
He died on 28 November 2021, at the age of 91.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Forbes profile: August von Finck". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ a b c "Bloomberg Billionaires Index # 198: August von Flink". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ "Billionaire August Von Finck Sells Most of His Stake in SGS". Bloomberg.com. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "August von Finck". Forbes. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Se vende incunable medieval - Medievalum". medievalum.com. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Amann, Melanie; Becker, Sven; Röbel, Sven (23 November 2018). "AfD-Unterstützung: Die Spur zu Milliardär August von Finck". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Konicz, Tomasz (14 September 2017). "AfD: Die Masken fallen". TELEPOLIS. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ Amann, Melanie; Becker, Sven; Röbel, Sven (30 November 2018). "Golden Age: A Billionaire Backer and the Murky Finances of the AfD". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Milliardär August von Finck ist tot". Spiegel. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
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