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Ralf-Dieter Brunowsky
Owner BrunoMedia GmbH
My Blog
Germany: Nobody likes the rich, but everyone wants to be rich
Yes, there is wealth in Germany, and even "very rich" Germans do exist. To the question "how to get rich?" Thomas Rueschen the chairman of Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office recently said in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Who wants to be rich needs to be an entrepreneur." In fact, the large and very large assets derived predominantly from entrepreneurial activity. Take family businesses as the screw manufacturer Wuerth, the retailers Schwarz (Lidl) and Rossmann, the Aldi family or the unknown Owner of any German machinery factory.. Professional football players stuck their money in expensive cars and the women at their side, at the end of the career is usually not much left. Of lottery winners most waste their sudden wealth fairly quickly. German TV soaps present the rich as pretentious, addicted to luxury and always tanned. But most of the rich do not conform to these patterns. Family Entrepreneurs stuck - some for generations - their income in their company. They are loyal to their employees as long as they can afford it - much more than corporations. They stand for continuity. They hide their luxury rather than to show off with it.They do not want to be richer, but preserve the assets into the future - in the interest of the company for which they are personally liable. In its regional environment people like Rossmann are well respected.The Association of the family-entrepreneurs has a presiding businesswoman Marie-Christine Ostermann who delivers a good picture into the public. Germany is famous for its family entrepreneurs, many of them are world market leaders in there niche. However, why do Germans hate the wealth? Many can not imagine that richness is possible in an honest way. Yes, there are some people who want to get rich by criminal deeds. But in Germany it is the exception. You don´t find here something like Russian oligarchs - billionaires, where you can not imagine how they have become rich in a short time. As matter of fact: Nobody likes the rich in Germany, but everyone wants to be rich. Millions play in lotteries, millions watch tv soaps with luxury, millions lover the football-professionells with their red Ferrari.. The rich list in Forbes and the German Manager Magazine are entertainment as well. Not a single rich person on this list will deny or correct their estimated wealth. It makes it so easy to publish such lists. The methods of investigation are questionable, as most rich in Germany are just not in the stock market (US is easier). Most German people with large fortunes have established foundations, where a portion of their assets is introduced for non-profit purposes. What would Germany be without its rich, his patrons, its entrepreneurs, its hidden champions?What would BMW be without the Quandt Family, Volkswagen without the Porsche Family? Wealthy families are an important part of the German society, even our culture. As long as they fulfill their obligations, pay their taxes they should be welcome. To me they are better here located than offshore at the Bahamas.
Founded 2002 as a PR Agency BrunoMedia is a well known expert in Media Relations. Customers of BrunoMedia estimate our excellent network in German business and financial media. Reference: CEO of Carsharing Company CiteeCar, Bill Jones: ‘’We have been working with Brunomedia now for more than nine months. In that time they have orchestrated 3 highly successful city press launches and secured exclusive coverage in national and local print , all major online sector blogs and a couple for outstanding TV features . By any measure our PR exposure has been exceptional and is a result of Brunomedia’s expert advice , guidance and unrivalled contacts’’ homepage: www.brunomedia.de Wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralf-Dieter_Brunowsky Blog: www.brunowsky.de (with bad but readable google-translation in most languages) ABOUT THE FOUNDER: 2002 till today: Publisher and PR Consultant, best connected to Germany´s financial and business media. Building up credibility, Branding, Reputation PR, Crisis communication, Media relations, 1991 to 2001 Editor in Chief of Germany´s leading financial magazine CAPITAL (monthly). 1989 to 1991 managing editor of entrepreneur magazine IMPULSE (monthly). 1980 to 1989 correspondent and managing editor of Germanys WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE (weekly) 1977 to 1979 political editor of newspaper Berliner Morgenpost 1975-1977 managing director of a local retail organisation in Berlin 1969 to 1975 Technische Universität Berlin (Diplom-Volkswirt) 1968 to 1969 German Navy (Bundesmarine)