Liz_Mohn

Liz Mohn

Liz Mohn

German businesswoman and philanthropist

Elisabeth Mohn (née Beckmann; born 21 June 1941)[1] is a German billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist.[2][3] She was married to Reinhard Mohn until his death in 2009.[4]

Quick Facts Born, Spouses ...

Liz Mohn represents the fifth generation of the family that founded and continues to play a leading role at the Bertelsmann media group.[5][6][7] Until 2021, she was chairwoman of the steering committee of the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG), and remains a committee member to this day.[7][8] She is also a member of the governance bodies at Bertelsmann.[9] Moreover, until June 2021 Liz Mohn was vice chairwoman of the executive board and board of trustees of the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung and since then has been an honorary member of the board of trustees.[10][11]

The Liz Mohn Center bundled her projects promoting international understanding, on business topics with a focus on issues of modern management, along with those in the cultural field.[12] Mohn has been recognized with numerous awards for her extensive civic engagement, among them the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.[13][14]

Life

After completing her schooling, Mohn began an apprenticeship as a dental hygienist. She later applied to become a telephone operator at Bertelsmann and subsequently worked for the company's book club. At the age of 17 she met Reinhard Mohn.[15] In 1963, she married the editor Joachim Scholz;[16][17] the couple separated in 1978.[18] In 1982, Reinhard Mohn's first marriage ended in divorce.[18][19] Liz and Reinhard Mohn married the same year.[20] He adopted their biological children Brigitte Mohn, Christoph Mohn and Andreas Mohn [de].[21]

Liz Mohn, Reinhard Mohn and Mikhail Gorbachev (1992)

In the following years, Liz Mohn gradually began playing a greater role at the company and foundation.[22] In 1986, she joined the Bertelsmann Stiftung's advisory council.[23] In 1999, she was asked to become a member of the shareholders' meeting of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft,[24] which controls the voting rights at the media group's annual general meeting.[25] In 2000, she also joined the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Stiftung;[26] the foundation indirectly holds a majority of shares in the Bertelsmann group.[27] In 2002, Mohn advanced to the top position at Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft,[28] where she also became the family spokesperson; in addition, she joined the supervisory board at Bertelsmann.[29] With that, she took on a leading role overseeing the company.[30]

Liz Mohn became her husband's successor upon his death in 2009.[31] Among other rights, Reinhard Mohn had granted her a veto at Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft.[32][33] She was also awarded a majority of the founder's rights at the Bertelsmann Stiftung,[34][35] which allows her, for example, to propose members for the board of trustees.[36]

As a result of her dual role at the company and the foundation, Liz Mohn has received considerable media attention.[37][38] Upon reaching the age threshold of 80 years, in the year 2021 she handed over the chairmanship in the steering committee at the Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft to Christoph Mohn.[39] In addition, she stepped down from the executive board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung. Liz Mohn continues to serve as president of the board of trustees of the Fundación Bertelsmann [es] and president of the board of directors of the Bertelsmann Foundation North America. Both are foundations belonging to the Bertelsmann Stiftung, yet act legally independently.[40]

Philanthropy

In 1987, Mohn launched the Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition.[41] She was inspired to do so by Herbert von Karajan,[42] who noted that too little was being done to promote new opera talent.[43] Organized by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the competition has since become an internationally recognized forum for discovering up-and-coming opera singers.[44][45][46] In addition, Mohn initiated a project in 1999 for promoting music appreciation and education among children, especially in primary schools.[47][48]

In 1992, she founded the nonprofit German Stroke Foundation [de],[49] which works to prevent and increase awareness of stroke.[50][51] She was motivated to do so by a medical condition affecting one of her sons which caused symptoms that resembled a stroke.[52][53] Mohn is president of the foundation and her daughter Brigitte serves as chairwoman of its board of trustees.[54] A key activity in this area is the Roseball, at which Mohn collects donations to be used for fighting the illness.[47][55]

In 2005, Mohn expanded her efforts to promote music appreciation and education by establishing the Liz Mohn Foundation for Culture and Music.[43] She serves as the chairwoman of its executive board.[56] The foundation carries out numerous activities: staging musicals for children and young people, for example, and awarding scholarships to opera singers.[57][58] To achieve its goals, the foundation partners with the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden and other organizations.[59][60] In addition, it hosts the annual idea initiative "Cultural Diversity with Music".[61][62]

Awards and honors

Liz Mohn, becoming honorary citizen of Gütersloh, with mayor Henning Schulz and Wolfgang Schüssel (2016)

Liz Mohn has been recognized numerous times for her social engagement.[2] In 1996, she was awarded the European Philanthropy Prize [de], the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Charity Bambi.[63] In 1999, she was the first woman from Germany to become a full member of the Club of Rome.[64][65] In 2000, she received the German Medical Association's Badge of Honor.[66] In 2006, the University of Tel Aviv awarded her an honorary doctorate.[67][68] In 2008, she received UNESCO's Children in Need award.[69] In 2009, she was the first woman to be honored with the Karl Winnacker Prize [de],[70] and she received the Global Economy Prize [de] in 2010.[71] In 2013, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, France's ambassador to Germany, made her an officer of the French Legion of Honor.[72] In 2014, she received the Euriade Badge of Honor in Gold from Queen Silvia of Sweden.[73] In 2016, Xavier Bettel, prime minister of Luxemburg, awarded her the Commander's Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown.[74][75]

In 2016, the Gütersloh city council made Mohn honorary citizen of the city.[76][77]

Publications

  • Liz Mohn (2001). Liebe öffnet Herzen (in German). München: C. Bertelsmann Verlag. ISBN 3-570-00367-1.
  • Liz Mohn, ed. (2006). Werte: Was die Gesellschaft zusammenhält (in German). Gütersloh: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung. ISBN 3-89204-908-4.
  • Liz Mohn; Ursula von der Leyen, eds. (2007). Familie gewinnt: Die Allianz und ihre Wirkungen für Unternehmen und Gesellschaft (in German). Gütersloh: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung. ISBN 978-3-89204-927-2.
  • Liz Mohn; Karin Schlautmann, eds. (2010). Positionen: Unternehmenskultur und Werte (in German). Gütersloh: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung. ISBN 978-3-86793-229-5.
  • Liz Mohn (2011). Schlüsselmomente: Erfahrungen eines engagierten Lebens (in German). München: C. Bertelsmann Verlag. ISBN 978-3-570-10110-0.

Further reading

  • Thomas Schuler (2004). Die Mohns: Vom Provinzbuchhändler zum Weltkonzern. Die Familie hinter Bertelsmann (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag. ISBN 3-593-37307-6.

References

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