Four step-grandchildren of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels are worth $1.2 billion each, according to an investigation by Bloomberg. That's largely thanks to an inheritance from their biological grandfather, Guenther Quandt.
Harald Quandt, Goebbels' step-son, and his half-brother Herbert inherited and rebuilt their father's industrial conglomerate, which produced guns and missiles for Nazi Germany's war effort, Bloomberg reports. One of the most lucrative parts of the conglomerate turned into a stake in BMW, and Herbert's widow and two children now own nearly half of the company.
Goebbels played a key role in implementing Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's agenda. Goebbels authorized violence against Jews, banned Jews from making cultural contributions, regulated the news media and led the creation of Nazi propaganda films. Goebbels killed himself, his wife, and his six biological children the day after Hitler committed suicide in 1945.
The profits that companies made in Nazi Germany remain controversial. Some descendants of Holocaust victims have sued European banks for allegedly hoarding their relatives' money during and after the Holocaust. And Deutsche Bank allegedly bought gold stolen from Jewish Holocaust victims and helped finance the construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp, according to research cited by the New York Times. Check out the Goebbels family photo below:
Related
Before You Go
