Bonnier family


The Bonnier family is a Swedish family, originally of Jewish descent, who since the beginning of the 19th century has been active in the book industry and later also in the mass media industry. They own the media group Bonnier Group, with the largest owners being Åke Bonnier and Jonas Bonnier. The group has 175 companies in 18 countries.

History

The earliest known member of the patriarchal line of the family was a cloth salesman named Jacob Schye, who was from the town of Sobědruhy in Bohemia. His son, the jeweler Löbel Schie, fathered the jeweler and coin dealer Löbel Salomon Hirschel. Hirschel's son, Gutkind Hirschel, moved from Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1801 and changed his name to Gerhard Bonnier. There, Gerhard started a small book store in 1804.
Gerhard's oldest son, Adolf Bonnier, moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1827 to expand the family business. He started a library in the city the following year and another one in Stockholm a few years after. Adolf Bonnier started a publishing company, Albert Bonniers Förlag in 1837 and his two younger brothers, David Felix Bonnier and Albert Bonnier, soon moved to Stockholm to help with the business.

Notable members