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BornintotherubbleanddeprivationofpostwarGermany,
HorstKochwantedoutofhissmall-towncocoon,andatage 21
foundhiswaytoa pokertable,wherehelearnedtoemptythe
pocketsoflessexperiencedplayers.Fordecades,Kochsays,
heearneda handsomelivingplayingcardsinBaden-Baden,
Aruba,andLasVegas.Yethealwayslustedafterthekindof
esteemthat’shardforevena championfive-card-studplayer
toearnatthetable.
SowhenKochin 2013 heardhemightbeabletobuyan
aristocratictitle,heconsideredit a pathtonewfoundrespect
andadmiration.Thesedays,humbleHorstKochis known—
legallyandineveryotherway—asHorstWalterCountvon
Hessen-Homburg.Hehashisowncoatofarmsanda gilded
familyhistorystretchingbackcenturies.
Andif youcanstumpupenoughcash,he’dbehappyto
dothesameforyou.“Doorsthatwereshutsuddenlyswing
open,youmeetdifferentpeople,everythingbecomeseasier,”
saysvonHessen-Homburg.“Yougetputthrough,anda no
becomesa yes.” ILLUSTRATION
BY
JACI
KESSLER
LUBLINER
BONUS GUIDE BloombergPursuits February 10, 2020
ThelegalprivilegesofnobilitywereabolishedinGermany
a centuryago,whenKaiserWilhelmII’smonarchycollapsed
afterWorldWarI. Butformermembersoftheupperclasswere
permittedtocarrya nobletitleaspartoftheirname.Even
today,thearistocracybenefitsfromtheauraofitsseparate
socialstrata—atleastinthepagesofglossymagazinesandthe
imaginationofmanycommoners.
Thevalueofa titleliesinpartinitsscarcity.About0.1%of
Germansareofnobledescent,roughly80,000outofa popu-
lationofalmost 84 million.IntheU.K.thenumberis closerto
0.01%.Thereareclearrulesaboutwho’sintheclub:Typically
youwerebornormarriedintogentility,andonlymencan
legitimately pass their title on to spouses and offspring.
But there’s a loophole: adoption. Usually by a noble who
can’t afford the upkeep on his or her crumbling country
estate or the staff to polish the family silver. Acquiring a title
this way is a simple transaction between a noble seller and a
social-climbing buyer, often involving a go-between such as
von Hessen-Homburg.
For €80,000 and up, you too can be a lord or lady
By Benedikt Kammel
Buy Your Way Into the Aristocracy
A Coat of Arms for
Former Commoners
If you stump up
enoughcash,you
canbeadopted
andcompletea
metamorphosis
into nobility