63He says each year he brokers about a dozen deals, for
prices ranging from around €80,000 ($88,000) to more than
€1 million, depending on the dynastic relevance of the name
and auxiliaries such as an elaborate coat of arms or storied
family tree. The new name is legally binding and appears on
all formal German documents: driver’s license, credit cards,
passport,evena newbirthcertificateif youwant.
Althoughsimpleintheory,theprocessofpersuading
anaristocrat to offload a cherished name can be fraught.
There’s no limit to how many buyers a freshly mintedcount
or baron can then bring on board, and blue-
blooded families are usually interested in keep-
ing their lineage exclusive. The national nobility
archive, maintained by an independent founda-
tioninthecityofMarburg,saysit receivesfre-
quentrequestsfromfamiliesseekingtoexpose
potentialimpostors.
Butwhena cousinoruncleadoptsa status-
seeking member of the hoi polloi, there’s not
much the family can do other than ostracize the
buyer and seller. “People might find this sort of
deal unappetizing, but there’s no real way they can
intervene if two adults decide they want to enter
an adoption,” says Hans-Heinrich Thormeyer, an
attorney specializing in family law.
Take Frédéric Prince von Anhalt, the ninth
husband of the late film diva Zsa Zsa Gabor. He
was born Hans Lichtenberg in Bad Kreuznach, a
sleepy spa town an hour west of Frankfurt, and
grew up to become a baker who later opened a
chain of massage parlors. Lichtenberg gained his
princedom in 1980 via adoption by Marie Auguste
Princess von Anhalt, an impoverished descendant
of the kaiser, in exchange for a monthly pension of
2,000 deutsche marks (about $3,600 today).
It was a lucrative investment. Von Anhalt paid
thepensionfortwoyearsuntiltheprincess’s
death,thensoldhisprincelytitletoa second
generation of customers: There’s Michael, who
owns a pair of fitness clubs near Frankfurt called
Killer Sports and parades around in tasseled mili-
tary uniforms. Another von Anhalt, Marcus, who
worked his way up from butcher to brothel owner,
cruises the streets of Dubai in his pink Bentley or
white Rolls. Buying the title—he paid less than $10,000forit,in
2005—was “the best decision of my life,” he says. “When you
come from the red-light district, you don’t get invited to fancy
balls or the Oscars. But when you’re a prince you do.”
Germany’s fragmentation before 1871—it was formerly made
up of hundreds of tiny states—left it with an unusually large
aristocracy, expanded further by Prussian military traditions,
whichspawnedyetmorenoblefamilies,particularlyinthe
finalyearsofWorldWarI. Thisrelativeabundancemakesthe
countrythepreferreddestinationfortitleseekers,though
smallermarkets exist in parts of Eastern Europe and in the
BONUS GUIDE BloombergPursuits February 10, 2020
U.K.,wherethetraditionofsellinga titlegoesbackcenturies.
KingJamesI ofEnglandcreatedtherankofbaronetin1611,
bestowingthedignity on hundreds of men in return for pay-
ments to the deeply indebted crown.
There’s growing interest overseas, particularly in the U.S.,
wherea tongue-twistingnoblenamecarriesanold-worldflair
(thinkClausvonBülow)thatcanturnthebearerintoa dinner-
party sensation. Although the U.S. government doesn’t allow
noble titles on official documents such as passports, you’re free
toadornyour credit cards with the extra flourishes.
German aristocrats may have lost heredi-
tary privileges, yet many continue to live slightly
apart. Tweed-clothed men on shooting weekends
and couples twirling in candle-lit ballrooms evoke
a bygone era—a mythological lifestyle that can
appeal to commoners looking to nibble on some
crumbs from the upper crust. “There’s something
self-assuring if for generations you considered your
family a cut above,” says Joseph von Westphalen,
a Munichauthorandfrequentcriticofhissocial
class.“Butjustlikesoccerstarsorrappers,the
fascination is in the eye of the beholder. Most
noble families just want to be left in peace.”
As von Westphalen tells it, the trappings of a
title can be a mixed blessing. Kissing the hands
of elderly relatives as a child was annoying, but
the name did get him ahead, whether being pro-
claimed class president in high school or network-
ing with the right people between jobs.
Among von Hessen-Homburg’s clients is a child-
lesscountessinMunich,nowinher80s,whose
husbanddiedin1994.A fewyearsago,a shop
assistanthalf-jokinglyaskedwhetherthecountess
would consider adopting her. That sparked the
idea: As a wartime refugee from eastern Germany
who married into nobility, she’d never had much
appetite for the lifestyle. People occasionally bow
spontaneously or salute when they hear her name,
behavior she calls “absurd.” Although her husband
invoked his title at opportune moments—applying
fora loan,say—heusedit sparingly.Thecount-
ess,whoaskedtoremainanonymousgiventhe
sensitivity surrounding adoption, says they also
kept the “von” prefix, which betrays aristocratic
descent,offtheir doorbell.
Now living in a humble flat in a quiet neighborhood, she
says milking the name for a healthy sum to sweeten her retire-
ment seems like a worthwhile transaction. “I have no actual
blue blood running through my veins, so sharing the title isn’t
really a big deal for me,” she says. “My noble relatives always
made clear that I was an outsider. I can pay my rent, but if I
can earn a little extra from the title, why not?”
But whoever ends up taking her name, title, and coat of
arms, the countess says, one thing is certain: “We won’t be
holding hands under the Christmas tree.” <BW>COUNTING UP
Among German nobility,
it’s not always clear who
outranks whom. Here are
themostcommonlytraded
titles.Freiherr/Baron
Among the lowest noble
ranks, which a ruler might
bestow on a person of high
social standing or wealth.
Price: €80,000 to €120,000Graf/Count
The most popularly traded
titles, these range from
€180,000 to €600,000,
depending on the name,
the age of the seller
and the family tree. The
more storied, the more
expensive.Fürst/Prince
Rulers of smaller states or
lords of the Holy Roman
Empire who elected the
emperor. These titles
are rarely sold, because
few families have them
these days.
Prinz/Prince
Descendants of royal
families—kings, queens,
or emperors. Sales are
infrequent, but they can
happen when a family
falls on hard times. Prices
range from €800,000 to
several times that.