About Mathias Doepfner
  • Mathias Doepfner is chairman and CEO of German media giant Axel Springer, which is active in over 40 countries and employs more than 16,000 people.
  • Axel Springer hired him in 1988 as Editor-in-Chief of its newspaper Die Welt. He joined the company's executive board in 2000 and became CEO in 2002.
  • His success in building revenue from digital activities, from under $150 million to around $3 billion, helped earn the trust of controlling shareholder Friede Springer.
  • To ensure continuity, in 2020 Friede Springer gave him a 15% stake in Axel Springer and sold him an additional 4.1%. He was awarded additional stock and now owns nearly 22%.
  • Axel Springer went public in 1985. In 2020, it went private again in a KKR-funded buyout that valued the company at around $8 billion.
Wealth History
HOVER TO REVEAL NET WORTH BY YEAR

Forbes Lists

Personal Stats
Age
61
Source of Wealth
Media
Residence
Potsdam, Germany
Citizenship
Germany
Did you know
Acquisitions under Doepfner have included TV news station N24 (since rebranded as Welt) and the digital news outlet Business Insider.
Doepfner studied musicology and theatrical arts in Frankfurt and Boston before starting his career as a journalist at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 1982.
Related People & Companies
Friede Springer
Friede Springer
Related by financial asset: Axel Springer
View Profile
Cox family
Cox family
Related by origin of wealth: Media
View Profile
Germany
Germany
Citizen of Germany
View Profile
David Thomson & family
David Thomson & family
Related by origin of wealth: Media
View Profile
Menardo Jimenez
Menardo Jimenez
Related by origin of wealth: Media
View Profile
Felipe Gozon
Felipe Gozon
Related by origin of wealth: Media
View Profile

More on Forbes

Jan 7, 2022

The Next Evolution Of Digital Identity In 2022

Companies building digital identity infrastructure will likely take privacy preservation and trustless architecture concepts from DeFi to serve consumers more effectively.
Mar 31, 2021

Three Predictions For Digital Identity In 2021

In one stroke, the pandemic has swept aside debates about whether digital identities are necessary. As the pandemic continues into 2021, the question for organizations is how they can secure their services.
Jul 21, 2015

Mathias Ingvarsson: A Q&A With the King of Luxury

I was fortunate enough to spend some quality with Mathias Ingvarsson, one of original entrepreneurs behind incredibly successful and opulent Tempur-Pedic mattress brand and, most recently, the CEO and founder of FRIGO Revolutionwear – a luxury line of men’s underwear which Ingvarsson hopes will do for men’s briefs what Tempur-Pedic [...]