Rolf Breuer's sentence turned out to be quite costly.
Rolf Breuer significantly impacted Frankfurt's financial landscape and Deutsche Bank for years. His most memorable phrase? "I had to get used to it," he commented regarding various instances in his career. On March 9, 2022, Breuer passed away at the age of 86 after a long illness.
The former head of Germany's largest financial institution, Breuer, maintained an office near Deutsche Bank's towering headquarters even after his retirement. Though he held numerous honorary posts throughout Frankfurt, in his later years, Breuer limited his mandates. In 2017, on his 80th birthday, he told the German Press Agency that, "You always have to remember that it's better for others to feel sorry for you when you leave."
"Mr. Financial Center," "Germany AG's puppet master" - such titles characterized Breuer's career. His name is associated with Deutsche Bank's growth into a global financial group, but also with the costliest interview in German economic history.
In early 2002, Breuer said to a reporter in a New York hotel room, "All you can read and hear about it is that the financial sector is not prepared to provide any more debt or even equity capital on an unchanged basis." Just a couple of months later, KirchMedia filed for bankruptcy. Kirch blamed Breuer ("Rolf shot me") and Deutsche Bank for its decline. The defendants always refuted the accusations that they caused the fall of Kirch Group. In early 2014, a costly settlement resolved the accumulation of lawsuits; the bank paid Kirch's heirs €925 million.
Commenting on being repeatedly quoted for that one sentence, Breuer remarked, "I had to get used to it. You can't let it get to you too much." Battling in courtrooms to preserve his reputation undoubtedly consumed his energy. Energy that Breuer would have preferred to assign to his enjoyment of music, art, and literature.
An extensive list of honorary positions held by Breuer, particularly in Frankfurt, includes the International Piano Forum, Schirn Kunsthalle, and Feith Foundation, among others. "I never fell into a hole," remarked Breuer. "I always managed to avoid tripping over the power cord at home." Breuer was married twice and had a son and two daughters, while his wife had two children from her previous marriage.
Breuer, whose full first name is Rolf-Ernst, ended up at Deutsche Bank more out of serendipity than design. He once noted, "My father would have liked me to become a chemist because he expected the most prosperous future from that profession. He once sent me on an internship, and as a result, I had no talent for it."
In summary, Breuer was not an exceptionally talented musician or director, so he instead became a lawyer and banker. Since his father had also undertaken a banking apprenticeship, that's where Breuer began his journey. His transformation from employee to CEO at Deutsche Bank in 1997 came by chance.
As Breuer's successor at Deutsche Bank, Christian Sewing stated, "I've seen Rolf Breuer as a traditionalist banker with timeless aesthetics and exceptional strategic foresight." Breuer's interests in the key account segment and international business were paramount because he viewed them as foundational for a robust German economy.
One of his greatest setbacks involved the failed merger of Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank in 2002. In May 2002, Josef Ackermann succeeded Breuer as CEO of Deutsche Bank, while Breuer stepped down as Chairman of the bank's Supervisory Board in May 2006.
Breuer's tenure as chief controller of Deutsche Börse terminated abruptly in spring 2005. Initially, significant investors successfully obstructed the takeover of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), forcing Werner Seifert and Breuer out of office.
Despite these setbacks, Breuer devoted himself to Frankfurt as a financial center. "Frankfurt is my home," the native of Bonn once admitted, "This is where I want to grow old and be buried."
Read also:
- Lack of snow also opens up new opportunities for winter tourism
- Abrupt end to e-car subsidies
- The chemical industry has little confidence
- Intersport boss hopes for sales boom through sporting events
Rolf Breuer, who had a significant impact on Deutsche Bank and Frankfurt's financial landscape, served as the former head of the institution and maintained an office near its headquarters even in retirement. Despite retiring, Breuer's obituary highlighted his involvement in the costly KirchMedia interview, resulting in a €925 million settlement in 2014.
Source: www.ntv.de
