German publisher
FinanzBuch Verlag is a German non-fiction book publisher located in Munich, Germany. It is a brand within the Münchner Verlagsgruppe, which has been a subsidiary of Swedish media conglomerate Bonnier Group since 2017.[1]
History
FinanzBuch Verlag was founded in 1997 by Christian Jund as a financial book publisher. Initially the firm distributed translations of English books, but expanded into original content, collaborating with other media firms such as Financial Times Deutschland.[2]
After the Dot-com bubble collapsed in 2001, the publisher expanded their niche beyond financial books and ventured into politics. Since then the publisher has earned a reputation as a libertarian-friendly publisher.[3] They have published high-profile German-language editions of figures such as Donald Trump and Peter Thiel.[4]
In 2017, the publisher's owner was acquired by the Swedish media conglomerate Bonnier Group.[5]
Criticism
FinanzBuch has published authors covering a number of controversial topics, including "Euro skepticism" and culture war. This has invited criticism the publisher is fostering far-right politics, however others have argued the topics are "economic rather than ethnic concerns.[6]
In 2018, FinanzBuch was widely criticized for publishing controversial economist Thilo Sarrazin, whose best-selling book was cancelled by Random House.[7] The book had been accused of having the potential to "reinforce anti-Muslim sentiments."[8] The publisher said they carefully thought about publishing the book, deciding "[it is a part of a liberal democracy is that all opinions may be represented as long as they do not violate legal regulations."[9]
References