Faber-Castell family explained

The House of Faber-Castell, originating from Stein near Nuremberg, Germany, is the name of an entrepreneurial noble family, morganatic branch of the House of Castell-Rüdenhausen, which founded the Faber-Castell AG in 1761 and the Nürnberger Versicherung in 1884.[1] A.W. Faber, the original name of the company, is the oldest company brand in the USA.[2]

History

See also: Counts of Castell. Founded in 1761 by Kasper Faber, AW Faber Bleystiftwerke made pencils. One of his successors was Johann Lothar, Freiherr von Faber; his granddaughter Baroness Ottilie married Alexander Graf von Castell-Rüdenhausen in 1898.[3] From them originates the new company name Faber-Castell (Count Alexander changed his name to Alexander von Faber-Castell). In 1905, Alexander von Faber-Castell introduced the pencil mark "Castell" for particularly high quality pencils.

Roland von Faber-Castell (1905–1978) was the last sole heir to the Faber-Castell fortune.[4] The Count successfully merged the companies Faber-Castell and Johann Faber. Roland was CEO of Faber-Castell for 50 years. Count Roland's first wife, Alix-May von (1907–1979) was born into the Cologne-based banking dynasty Oppenheim. The marriage was disrupted through antisemitic attacks, because her grandfather, prominent banker Eduard von Oppenheim was a born Jew.[5] Eduard married Amalie Heuser, from a Protestant family and converted to Lutheranism.Yet, Roland and Alix-May were victims of constant attacks. In 1935 Graf Roland and Alix-May divorced after the magazine Der Stürmer criticized her luxurious lifestyle and the words 'Die Oppenheim, das Judenschwein, muss raus aus Stein' (Oppenheim, the Jew-pig, has to leave Stein) were written on the family's castle, .[6]

Furthermore, Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell (1941–2016), son from Roland's second marriage with Katharina, was CEO and the owning family's representative for nearly 40 years in the eighth generation.[7] In that context, Graf Anton-Wolfgang bought out many of his siblings and their children in order to gain decisive power.[8] He worked for a long time with his younger brother, Andreas Graf von Faber-Castell, for the family business. Andreas acted from Australia and dealt largely with the Asian market.[9] A son from the first the marriage of Roland von Faber-Castell and his wife Alix-May, was Hubertus von Faber-Castell. Hubertus was a pioneer in Chinese commercial television and has been awarded, as the only European in history, the honorary citizenship of China's capital city Beijing.[10] The mother of Hubertus was, among other things, co-owner of Europe's biggest private bank, Sal. Oppenheim Jr & Cie.[11] His son, Patrick Graf von Faber-Castell, married the German actress Mariella Ahrens under a large media presence at Faber-Castell castle, in 2007.[12]

Swiss billionaire Paul Sacher (1906–1999), majority shareholder of the pharmaceuticals company Hoffmann-La Roche, was father to Katharina and Cornelia von Faber-Castell.[13] [14] Patrick von Faber-Castell and his siblings, Floria-Franziska of Hesse and Caroline Gotzens, own one of the most important collections of silver and jewellery in Germany. Most of the pieces are available to the public in various German museums. The majority of the private collection has been recorded by the Kunstmuseum Köln and published under the name "A Rhenish Silver Treasure - Jewelry and Equipment from Private Ownership".[15]

Family members

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Die NÜRNBERGER.
  2. Web site: FAQ.
  3. Web site: 28.02.1898: Ottilie von Faber heiratet Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen. June 12, 2015. swrmediathek.de.
  4. Web site: ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl.
  5. Web site: Familie Oppenheim .
  6. Web site: Vermeer darf bleiben. 3 July 2013 .
  7. Web site: Graf Von Faber-Castell's Heritage Collection Of Fountain Pens. Nancy. Olson. Forbes.
  8. News: A.W. Graf von Faber-Castel: Der spätberufene Graf. Faz.net. Liesem. Kerstin.
  9. Web site: Yaffa Media – Where engaging media meets inspired content – Yaffa Media.
  10. CHINA: Besondere Revolution. Der Spiegel. 23 March 1987. Spiegel Online.
  11. 27 January 1954. FC von Oppenheim. Der Spiegel. de. 15.
  12. Web site: Eine märchenhafte Hochzeit auf Schloss Stein. nordbayern.de.
  13. News: 14 Millionen Dollar als Tageslohn. Die Welt. July 1996.
  14. News: Über Paul Sacher, diesen Animator der Musikwelt. Die Welt. 18 May 2001.
  15. Web site: Ein rheinischer Silberschatz - Schmuck und Gerät aus Privatbesitz. Rüdiger. Joppien. July 24, 1980. Wienand. Amazon.