US billionaire Michael Bloomberg is the biggest donor behind the London fund Hedosophia. The fund, which is worth more than one billion dollars, holds shares in well-known German startups such as N26 and Flixbus
The legendary US entrepreneur, billionaire and former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is one of the most important donors of the German startup scene. According to information from the business magazine "Capital" and the finance portal Finance Forward, Bloomberg is the big financier behind the London fund Hedosophia, which in turn holds shares in young German flagship companies such as the banking app N26 and the long-distance bus operator Flixbus.
This will reveal one of the biggest secrets of the startup scene. At the beginning of the year, Finance Forward reported in detail for the first time on the London investment firm Hedosophia and its founder Ian Osborne. Largely unnoticed by the public, the fund has risen to become one of the most important global fintech financiers in recent years. However, for a long time it remained unclear who the financiers behind Hedosophia are.
Insiders confirmed the close connection between Osborne and Bloomberg: the 37-year-old Briton advised him during his time as mayor, and in the following years he built up a high-profile network in politics and business. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former British Prime Minister David Cameron are among his contacts.
Eight years ago, Osborne finally founded his own start-up fund Hedosophia, which is now more than $ 1 billion in size. Bloomberg contributed part of the money for the project. According to Forbes, the founder of media and software service Bloomberg has assets of $ 55 billion. In November he ran for the Democratic presidential candidacy, spent around $ 1 billion on it within a few weeks, but failed to prevail in the primary elections.
The article will appear in "Capital" 9/2020. Click here to go to the subscription shop, where you can order the print edition. The digital edition is available from iTunes and GooglePlay.
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