Keeping Up With the Neuendorfs

Hans Neuendorf in 2001.
Hans Neuendorf in 2001. This isn’t the first time the Neuendorf family has used delays and deflection to retain control of the company. Photo: AP/Gino Domenico)
Marion Maneker
November 17, 2024

The titanic struggle for control of Artnet, the media and data company that provides a pivot point for the entire art market, was scheduled to come to a head at tomorrow’s annual general meeting. Artnet is controlled by the Neuendorf family, which owns 26 percent of the company’s shares. A slightly larger percentage of the shares, which are traded on the German stock exchange, are owned by Rudiger Weng, who’s been campaigning to win a seat on the three-person board of directors. Weng believes he finally has the votes, which would subsequently allow him to oust C.E.O. Jacob Pabst, the 52-year-old son of Hans Neuendorf, the company’s 87-year-old founder. But late last week, the meeting was canceled without warning.