For a company as visible as Pornhub, relatively little is known about its parent company, MindGeek. Even less info is readily available about its majority owner, Bernard Bergemar.
In a recent investigation into the Luxembourg-based conglomerate behind Pornhub, the Financial Times attempted to unravel the mystery surrounding the company responsible for one of the most popular destinations on the internet, including the elusive man of mystery who owns it.
In a tech world dominated by highly visible CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, the lack of information available about MindGeek’s largest owner is something of an anomaly, and it’s reportedly one MindGeek has worked hard to maintain. According to the Financial Times investigation, MindGeek actively kept Bergemar’s identity a company secret, shared only by a handful of execs and their advisors. Prior to the report, his name only appeared in three Google search results, all related to a prior role as an executive at RedTube, a porn site now owned by MindGeek.
Bergemar is not listed in the company’s corporate filings, but the Financial Times revealed that a “complex network of subsidiaries” in which he owns a large chunk of the shares makes him the company’s largest beneficiary.
In keeping with his recently discovered reputation as a man of mystery, Bergemar declined to comment for the Financial Times piece. However, the report dug up some other interesting info about MindGeek, including the fact that the company counts big names like JPMorgan Chase, Cornell University and Fortress Investment Group among its better-known financial backers.
Like Bergemar, JPMorgan and Fortress declined to comment for the article, while Cornell told the outlet its investment managers’ portfolios were confidential.
The investigation into MindGeek comes as its leading product, Pornhub, faces increased scrutiny and massive policy changes following a New York Times exposé accusing the platform of publishing illegal content featuring sexual assault.
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