REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is Bernard Bergemar's net worth? PornHub's majority owner saw wealth grow with backers like JPMorgan Chase

The company is thought to be worth £1.2 billion that is $1.69 billion
UPDATED MAY 24, 2021
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Canada-based MindGeek is one of the largest porn companies in the world. Yet, a lot of information about the company remained a "secret" for a very long time. But a few months back, it was revealed that Bernard Bergemar is the one who holds a major share of MindGeek. His net worth is so high that it surpasses what many top earners, from Hollywood stars to CEOs, take home.

Bergmair, 52, who is the de facto head of the Montreal-based porn firm MindGeek, the company behind Pornhub, never really revealed his identity until a few months back. MindGeek found itself in legal trouble after several reports emerged that the company is knowingly monetizing child sexual abuse material on Pornhub. 

RELATED ARTICLES

Who is Priscila Bergmair? Pornhub boss Bernd Bergmair's wife wants him to quit company amid child abuse claims

Can children access Pornhub? 'Rape porn,' other violent videos available to anyone on X-rated sites: Study

The adult website boasts 120 million visitors each day across the world and has more online traffic than that of Amazon, Disney+ or even Netflix. The website has come under criticism over abusive content such as videos of rape and 'revenge porn'. In December 2020 MindGeek cracked down on its unverified users following a newspaper report that claimed that it was profiting from abusive content including child exploitation.

At this time, MindGeek is under FBI investigation after 132 sexual exploitation survivors called on the bureau to probe claims of sex trafficking breaches. Apart from Pornhub, MindGeek, also owns porn sites RedTube and YouPorn. The company is thought to be worth £1.2 billion that is $1.69 billion (approx). According to Biography Daily, Bergmair's individual net worth stands between a whopping $1.2 billion- $2 billion.

Pornhub which attracted 42 billion views in 2019 said that it doesn't knowingly allow images of sexual abuse of children. But it was forced to remove more than 10 million unverified videos, the majority of its content, following a report by the New York Times. Even after these videos were flagged and removed from the website, downloaded copies continued to circulate around the world, often with severe personal consequences, the paper said.

Many credit card companies including Visa, Mastercard and Discover have since blocked their customers from making purchases on Pornhub. According to an article by NY Post, MindGeek allegedly has some better-known financial backers, including JPMorgan Chase, Cornell University and Fortress Investment Group, a New York-based investment management firm. These were among the 125 investors who gave the company $362 million in debt back in 2011, when it was known as Manwin and was looking to expand. 

MindGeek responded last year by banning downloads from the site. They also stopped videos being posted by unverified users. This means that people who have been verified by the site, known as 'content creators' will be able to post content. The firm says it will also be releasing its first transparency report in 2021, highlighting the results of moderation from the previous year.

In a statement that was released in December 2020, Pornhub said: “The safety of the Pornhub community is our top priority, which is why we have enacted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history. We have banned uploads from unverified users, eliminated downloads, expanded our moderation processes and collaborated with dozens of non-profit organizations around the world, steps that surpass those of any other major platform on the internet.

Every online platform has the responsibility to join this fight against illegal material. It requires collective action and constant vigilance, and we are committed to remaining at the forefront of safety and security in the tech and social media industries.”

RELATED TOPICS NEW YORK NEWS
POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW