In the 1980s, Heineken was one of the most popular beers around the world, but it was also a true institution in the Netherlands. With more than a century of existence, the company has undergone a series of expansions, mergers and innovative marketing and business strategies, becoming one of the most important companies in the country, both because of the image it projected and the economic and social impact it made. I was born. .
In this context, the Heineken family, which still controls the company, has achieved millionaire status. At the height of the 1980s, the company’s president, Alfred Heineken, also known as Freddy, amassed a fortune equivalent to hundreds of millions of euros today, elEconomista says.
That’s when one of the most famous and disturbing events in the business world occurred: the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken. On November 9, 1983, at 6:56 p.m., in an upscale area of Amsterdam, in front of the company’s office, a group of five masked men attacked Heineken at gunpoint, and also took away its driver Ab Doderer, who tried to intervene.
The kidnapping was not a rash act. For two years, the kidnappers carefully studied the businessman’s steps, monitoring his home, office and daily routine.
After being taken to a factory in the Amsterdam port area, Heineken and its driver were held in makeshift cells while the kidnappers continued their normal activities.
The kidnapping was initially scheduled to last 48 hours, but the kidnapping extended over 21 days due to negotiations and the complexity of the operations. The kidnappers’ demands were clear: a ransom equivalent to about $30 million at the time, the highest ransom ever paid in Europe.
Despite Heineken’s initial resistance to paying the ransom, the family eventually gave in to the kidnappers’ demands. The money was delivered according to instructions, but the kidnappers fled without releasing the victims.
After an extensive police search, the kidnappers were arrested, although a significant portion of the ransom was not recovered. After their release from prison in the 1990s, many of them became prominent figures in the Dutch mafia, raising speculation about the fate of the ransom money.
Alfred Heineken died in 2002, leaving behind a legacy of commercial success and a story of courage.
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