Aside from Bertelsmann, whose newish boss, Thomas Middelhoff, is 46, they are run by old and oldish men Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone and Gerald Levin.

ECONOMIST: The net gets real

Thomas Middelhoff, its chief executive until 2002, had wanted to take Bertelsmann public, but Reinhard Mohn and his family, the dominant shareholders, have always been unenthusiastic.

ECONOMIST: German companies