Bernd Bergmair

Bernd Bergmair (also spelled Bernard Bergemar, born 1968 in Linz^[1]) is an Austrian businessman. He was previously a majority owner of privately held MindGeek, the Luxembourg-based media conglomerate behind popular porn sites such as Pornhub.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Bergmair was a son a farmer in Ansfelden in Upper Austria. He attended grammar school in Linz, and then transferred to HLBLA St. Florian to complete his secondary education.^[8]

Bergmair went to college at the University of Linz, graduating in 1992 with a thesis on a topic related to corporate acquisition: Evaluation of corporations and financing strategies in connection with M & A, LBO and MBO.^[9]

In the 1990s, Bergmair worked for Goldman Sachs in New York City.^[8][10]

In 2006, Bergmair became the owner of the porn website RedTube.^[8][10]

In 2013, Bergmair sold the RedTube site to Manwin, now known as Aylo.^[8][10]

In December 2020, the Financial Times published a report on MindGeek's ownership, revealing that Bergmair or "Bernard Bergemar" as he had used in court documents was the company's majority owner. The Financial Times report prompted a parliamentary inquiry into Pornhub's practices in Canada, in which MindGeek directors and minority owners David Tassillo and Feras Antoon named a "Bernard Bergemar" as the principal owner. He owned more than half of the shares, but was a passive investor and not involved in the day-to-day business. British research platform Tortoise Media and Austrian magazine Dossier cooperated on an investigation.^{[8][11][12][13]}

In 2021, company records showed Bergemar lived in China, but he was found to be actually living in a mansion in London after the investigation by Tortoise Media.^[14][12] Soon after, his Brazilian wife Priscila Bergmair told The Sunday Times that she wanted her husband to cut ties with the company.^[15][16]

In March 2023, Ethical Capital Partners purchased MindGeek, later renaming the media company to Aylo.^[10][17]