July 30, 1998

German Fund Is Making Its Mark

By VINCE STEHLE

Bertelsmann shakes up thinking on both sides of the Atlantic

The German media conglomerate Bertelsmann A.G. shook up the business world this spring when it took over Random House and became the largest publisher of English-language books anywhere.

The $14-billion company, owned primarily by a charitable foundation based in this small town about 100 miles northeast of Dusseldorf, is also shaking up the way philanthropy works here in Germany.

And through its efforts to