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| A Billionaire Dreams of Steering Europe’s Future | A Billionaire Dreams of Steering Europe’s Future |
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| PARIS — Outside the secure elevator leading to his penthouse hotel suite at Le Bristol, Nicolas Berggruen handed a visitor his key. | PARIS — Outside the secure elevator leading to his penthouse hotel suite at Le Bristol, Nicolas Berggruen handed a visitor his key. |
| “I’ll meet you there,” he said as he inserted the white buds of an iPhone into his ears and bounded up five flights of lushly carpeted stairs. | “I’ll meet you there,” he said as he inserted the white buds of an iPhone into his ears and bounded up five flights of lushly carpeted stairs. |
| When Mr. Berggruen, the billionaire founder of the private equity group Berggruen Holdings, arrived at the hotel’s top floor — just as the elevator doors opened for the visitor — he was wrapping up a quick phone call. | When Mr. Berggruen, the billionaire founder of the private equity group Berggruen Holdings, arrived at the hotel’s top floor — just as the elevator doors opened for the visitor — he was wrapping up a quick phone call. |
| “I’m sorry,” he said, shrugging, not the least bit winded. “I don’t get much exercise.” | “I’m sorry,” he said, shrugging, not the least bit winded. “I don’t get much exercise.” |
| Nor, it seems, does he ever stand still. | Nor, it seems, does he ever stand still. |
| Having amassed an estimated $2.5 billion fortune over the last two decades by buying up troubled companies and turning them around, Mr. Berggruen, 51, has been preoccupied of late in addressing what he sees as the woeful state of Western democratic institutions. | Having amassed an estimated $2.5 billion fortune over the last two decades by buying up troubled companies and turning them around, Mr. Berggruen, 51, has been preoccupied of late in addressing what he sees as the woeful state of Western democratic institutions. |
| To that end, he spent more than $100 million in 2009 to establish the Berggruen Institute on Governance, packed with a global A-list of the rich and powerful. Its mission is to urge new — and, he says, better — forms of global governance. | To that end, he spent more than $100 million in 2009 to establish the Berggruen Institute on Governance, packed with a global A-list of the rich and powerful. Its mission is to urge new — and, he says, better — forms of global governance. |
| Mr. Berggruen was in Paris in the past week to convene a “town hall” meeting of European political and business leaders to discuss the future of Europe. | Mr. Berggruen was in Paris in the past week to convene a “town hall” meeting of European political and business leaders to discuss the future of Europe. |
| In the United States, his efforts have so far focused on California — the institute is based in Beverly Hills — pushing (not always successfully) for tax, budget and education overhauls. | In the United States, his efforts have so far focused on California — the institute is based in Beverly Hills — pushing (not always successfully) for tax, budget and education overhauls. |
| Globally, meanwhile, the institute’s “21st Century Council” of more than three dozen business leaders and former heads of state is set up to lobby the leaders of the Group of 20 richest nations with recommendations for economic and financial market overhauls. | Globally, meanwhile, the institute’s “21st Century Council” of more than three dozen business leaders and former heads of state is set up to lobby the leaders of the Group of 20 richest nations with recommendations for economic and financial market overhauls. |
| But it is in Europe where Mr. Berggruen and his institute have been most active recently. | But it is in Europe where Mr. Berggruen and his institute have been most active recently. |
| As the debt crisis has ground on and recession has set in, fraying the always loosely woven fabric of European political unity, Mr. Berggruen has shuttled among capitals in his private jet, leveraging the collective influence of about two dozen prominent friends in the hope of saving Europe from itself. | As the debt crisis has ground on and recession has set in, fraying the always loosely woven fabric of European political unity, Mr. Berggruen has shuttled among capitals in his private jet, leveraging the collective influence of about two dozen prominent friends in the hope of saving Europe from itself. |
| His coterie includes Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor; Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission; and Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain. | His coterie includes Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor; Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission; and Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain. |
| “Europe really suffers from a structural governance problem,” Mr. Berggruen said in an interview overlooking his sprawling hotel terrace. “Brussels is powerless. It doesn’t have the legitimate political authority — not because they wouldn’t like to, they just don’t have it.” | “Europe really suffers from a structural governance problem,” Mr. Berggruen said in an interview overlooking his sprawling hotel terrace. “Brussels is powerless. It doesn’t have the legitimate political authority — not because they wouldn’t like to, they just don’t have it.” |
| When the debt crisis first emerged in 2009, he said, “we felt very quickly that this was a political crisis, that the financial and economic repercussions were really just symptoms.” | When the debt crisis first emerged in 2009, he said, “we felt very quickly that this was a political crisis, that the financial and economic repercussions were really just symptoms.” |
| Not everyone is so enamored of Mr. Berggruen’s professed crusade. | Not everyone is so enamored of Mr. Berggruen’s professed crusade. |
| Claus Leggewie, director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen, Germany, wonders why wealthy financiers and power brokers should be entrusted to devise solutions to a crisis that he argues is largely of their own making. | Claus Leggewie, director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen, Germany, wonders why wealthy financiers and power brokers should be entrusted to devise solutions to a crisis that he argues is largely of their own making. |
| He also rejects the notion that true reform can be forged through “back-room politics, by a closed shop of influential ex-politicians that thinks it can solve problems from the top down.” | He also rejects the notion that true reform can be forged through “back-room politics, by a closed shop of influential ex-politicians that thinks it can solve problems from the top down.” |
| “That kind of policy-making is democratically problematic,” he wrote in an e-mail, “and in view of those in the European periphery who are affected by it, paternalistic.” | “That kind of policy-making is democratically problematic,” he wrote in an e-mail, “and in view of those in the European periphery who are affected by it, paternalistic.” |
| Mr. Berggruen, for his part, insists that it is by addressing some of Europe’s most acute economic symptoms collectively that public faith in the European Union can be mended — a requisite first step, he argues, toward the goal of deeper political and economic integration. | Mr. Berggruen, for his part, insists that it is by addressing some of Europe’s most acute economic symptoms collectively that public faith in the European Union can be mended — a requisite first step, he argues, toward the goal of deeper political and economic integration. |
| In that vein, the Berggruen Institute’s gathering in the past week — timed to coincide with the annual ministerial meeting of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — made a convenient backdrop for prominent discussion of a multinational program to address Europe’s alarmingly high youth unemployment rate. | In that vein, the Berggruen Institute’s gathering in the past week — timed to coincide with the annual ministerial meeting of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — made a convenient backdrop for prominent discussion of a multinational program to address Europe’s alarmingly high youth unemployment rate. |
| Only the broad outlines of a European youth jobs initiative, which is still being negotiated by governments, were announced at the conference by President François Hollande of France. They included low-interest loans to small companies to encourage hiring, new job-training programs and steps to increase the geographic mobility of young people. | Only the broad outlines of a European youth jobs initiative, which is still being negotiated by governments, were announced at the conference by President François Hollande of France. They included low-interest loans to small companies to encourage hiring, new job-training programs and steps to increase the geographic mobility of young people. |
| Initial financing would come from a pool of 6 billion euros, or nearly $8 billion, that has already been set aside by the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s bursar for big development projects. Priority would be given to parts of the union where youth unemployment is above 25 percent. | Initial financing would come from a pool of 6 billion euros, or nearly $8 billion, that has already been set aside by the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s bursar for big development projects. Priority would be given to parts of the union where youth unemployment is above 25 percent. |
| The plan, which is to be formally introduced in time for a gathering of European labor ministers in July, was strongly endorsed by top European officials in attendance. Several paid tribute to Mr. Berggruen’s role in getting the conversation started. | The plan, which is to be formally introduced in time for a gathering of European labor ministers in July, was strongly endorsed by top European officials in attendance. Several paid tribute to Mr. Berggruen’s role in getting the conversation started. |
| “You have paid a great service to Europe,” Mr. Hollande said of his efforts. | “You have paid a great service to Europe,” Mr. Hollande said of his efforts. |
| In the hands of someone without Mr. Berggruen’s gilded Rolodex, his mission might seem quixotic. But Mr. Berggruen, a dual citizen of the United States and Germany, is a card-carrying member of the global elite. | In the hands of someone without Mr. Berggruen’s gilded Rolodex, his mission might seem quixotic. But Mr. Berggruen, a dual citizen of the United States and Germany, is a card-carrying member of the global elite. |
| His father, Heinz Berggruen, was a renowned German-American art dealer and collector. Nicolas Berggruen grew up in Paris and attended the Institut Le Rosey, an exclusive Swiss boarding school sometimes referred to as the “school of kings” for the many royals among its alumni. | His father, Heinz Berggruen, was a renowned German-American art dealer and collector. Nicolas Berggruen grew up in Paris and attended the Institut Le Rosey, an exclusive Swiss boarding school sometimes referred to as the “school of kings” for the many royals among its alumni. |
| He went on to study finance at New York University and then parlayed a modest trust from his father into a multibillion-dollar fortune through investments in real estate and stocks of media, technology and retail companies. | He went on to study finance at New York University and then parlayed a modest trust from his father into a multibillion-dollar fortune through investments in real estate and stocks of media, technology and retail companies. |
| Berggruen Holdings was founded in 1984, and its biggest investments now include large stakes in Burger King and the struggling German department store chain Karstadt, which he snapped up in bankruptcy in 2010. | Berggruen Holdings was founded in 1984, and its biggest investments now include large stakes in Burger King and the struggling German department store chain Karstadt, which he snapped up in bankruptcy in 2010. |
| Until this year, when he decided it was too big a distraction from his political activities, Mr. Berggruen was host to a lavish annual Oscar week party at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, which drew celebrities from the worlds of film, fashion and finance. | Until this year, when he decided it was too big a distraction from his political activities, Mr. Berggruen was host to a lavish annual Oscar week party at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, which drew celebrities from the worlds of film, fashion and finance. |
| In embracing his new role as a serious would-be political reformer, Mr. Berggruen seems eager to shed the image of an itinerant playboy. A bachelor for many years, he now says he would be eager for the “challenge” of a wife and family. | In embracing his new role as a serious would-be political reformer, Mr. Berggruen seems eager to shed the image of an itinerant playboy. A bachelor for many years, he now says he would be eager for the “challenge” of a wife and family. |
| Several years ago, he sold most of his possessions — including a Fifth Avenue apartment and a private island home near Miami — and used the proceeds to set up a foundation based in the Virgin Islands that now finances his institute’s various activities. | Several years ago, he sold most of his possessions — including a Fifth Avenue apartment and a private island home near Miami — and used the proceeds to set up a foundation based in the Virgin Islands that now finances his institute’s various activities. |
| With no fixed address, he shuttles between five-star hotels carrying little more than a change of bespoke clothes, a phone and an iPad. The world’s gossip pages have nicknamed him the “homeless billionaire,” a label he dismisses as an irritating distraction. | With no fixed address, he shuttles between five-star hotels carrying little more than a change of bespoke clothes, a phone and an iPad. The world’s gossip pages have nicknamed him the “homeless billionaire,” a label he dismisses as an irritating distraction. |
| For now, he seems intent on directing media attention to his institute’s European agenda, which includes drumming up popular interest in the elections for a new European Parliament scheduled for next May. Under the terms of the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon, the new Parliament will, for the first time, elect the president of the European Commission, the principal leader of the union on the world stage. | For now, he seems intent on directing media attention to his institute’s European agenda, which includes drumming up popular interest in the elections for a new European Parliament scheduled for next May. Under the terms of the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon, the new Parliament will, for the first time, elect the president of the European Commission, the principal leader of the union on the world stage. |
| Mr. Berggruen says he hopes that the contest might draw at least a few high-wattage names — perhaps, one wonders, someone who is already programmed into his speed-dial. | |
| “The opportunity is that these parliamentary elections will actually become something significant,” he said. “If people who have a certain presence present themselves to become the face of the people in Brussels, then I believe some power and legitimacy would transfer.” | “The opportunity is that these parliamentary elections will actually become something significant,” he said. “If people who have a certain presence present themselves to become the face of the people in Brussels, then I believe some power and legitimacy would transfer.” |
| In addition to a more energized Parliament and a charismatic leader, Mr. Berggruen argues that Europe needs a stronger, more centralized government that is empowered to make critical decisions — particularly economic ones — for the entire 27-nation bloc. | In addition to a more energized Parliament and a charismatic leader, Mr. Berggruen argues that Europe needs a stronger, more centralized government that is empowered to make critical decisions — particularly economic ones — for the entire 27-nation bloc. |
| Deeper integration, of course, is a touchy subject across much of Europe these days. A Pew Research Center survey of thousands of voters in major European Union member countries published in May found deepening disillusionment with the European project as the continuing economic crisis slowly drains citizens’ sense of regional solidarity. | Deeper integration, of course, is a touchy subject across much of Europe these days. A Pew Research Center survey of thousands of voters in major European Union member countries published in May found deepening disillusionment with the European project as the continuing economic crisis slowly drains citizens’ sense of regional solidarity. |
| “Look, we have a choice to federate certain things more, or we go the other way — we break up,” he said. “But either way, in this environment, is going to be costly. It’s not like one way is the easy way. Both are hard.” | “Look, we have a choice to federate certain things more, or we go the other way — we break up,” he said. “But either way, in this environment, is going to be costly. It’s not like one way is the easy way. Both are hard.” |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: June 3, 2013 | |
An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to candidates for the “European Union presidency.” José Manuel Barroso is president of the European Council, and Herman Van Rompuy is president of the European Council; it is not the case that Mr. Van Rompuy is “president” of the European Union. |