Freddy Heineken
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Alfred Henry (Freddy) Heineken (November 4, 1923, Amsterdam, Netherlands – January 3 2002) was a major stock holder and president of Heineken International, the brewing company bought in 1864 by his grandfather Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam.
He entered the service of the company (which by then was no longer owned by the family) on 1 June 1941 and bought back stock several years later, to ensure the family controlled the company again. He created the Heineken Holding that owned 50.005% of Heineken International and personally held a majority stake in Heineken Holding.
By the time of his resignation as chairman of the board in 1989 he had transformed Heineken from a brand that was known chiefly in the Netherlands to a brand that is currently famous worldwide.
Freddy Heineken married Lucille Cummins, an American from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers. They had one child, Charlene Heineken, who inherited his fortune in 2002.
Kidnapping
Freddy Heineken and his chauffeur Ab Doderer were kidnapped in 1983 and released on a ransom of 35 million guilders (about 16 million Euros). The kidnappers Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Jan Boelaard and Frans Meijer were eventually caught. The first three served their prison term in the Netherlands, but Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for years, until he was discovered and imprisoned there. His friend John Kronenbourg tried to help him but died.
