When talking about leaders and established CEOs, we immediately think of Mark Zuckerberg and the likes of Robert Iger and Elon Musk. But within those world’s are the underdogs running highly successful companies with little to no fame. One man we think deserves some credibility is German native Michael Gastauer.
Michale Gastauer, is a billionaire venture capitalist and philanthropist who specialises in financial technology. Among the wealthiest individuals in Europe, Gastauer was born in Germany and raised in Switzerland which led him to found his first company by the age of 24 – a Swiss asset management firm. In less than three years, the company was sold to a Swiss investment firm for CHF 16 million. This was a substantial amount of money for someone barely breaking into their late twenties.
After selling off his prior business, Gastauer didn’t settle for a relaxing life, he went straight onto creating an online payment system for eCommerce sites. The global platform was one of the first in Europe to offer worldwide card acceptance and payment processing solutions. Gastauer led the business to consistent growth and profitability, reaching a €480 million valuation, before it was sold in 2008.
Following the selling of his second business, Gastauer founded the Gastauer Family Office (GFO), a single family office with €10bn assets under management. The Gastauer Family Office has a venture arm capital investing in fintech companies. He is also the founder and chairman of the Gastauer Foundation, a non-profit organisation providing financial inclusion to reduce the high number of the population who have no, or limited access to financial services.
With this in mind, Michael Gastauer created a digital banking platform, Black Banx. Black Banx aims to be a borderless financial institution where money can flow freely for anyone no matter where they are in the world. Using a mobile app, individuals and business clients can utilise carefully selected global banking networks to process money without any transaction limits. This enables them to send and accept local and international payments almost instantly, and hold or manage funds in multi FIAT and crypto currencies.
Headquartered in London, Black Banx operates globally with an international network spanning 180 countries and access to 28 currencies. The fintech business currently has over 20 million customers and a December 2022 revenue of $1.1bn.
Black Banx has a range of features on offer. These include:
- Real time 24/7 currency exchange
- Private and business accounts in 28 FIAT (government issued currency) and two cryptocurrencies
- Inter platform instant payments
- Debit card
- Real time 24/7 crypto trading services
- Crypto customers can use their crypto balance to pay third parties directly from the platform
About Michael
Michael Gastauer is a man with a vision to improve the global accessibility of financial services. With Black Banx, he’s achieving that at a growing rate. But who is Michael Gastauer beyond his work? Ultimately, he’s a family man and animal lover. A love for horses and cross-country riding, Gastauer places special emphasis on his love for his dogs, especially Belgian Shepherd Victoria (Vicky).
With three children, the youngest only four years old, Gastauer makes sure to show his children that doing what you love is just as important as the financial benefits. This is something he learnt from his own father when he was twelve years old.
Michael said, “When I was 12, I asked my father what was important when choosing a career. He said it’s important to choose something you’re interested in and something you enjoy. The main motive for me for working in finance has always been how reliant people and governments are on a stable financial system. It’s always fascinated me, and still does to this day.”
Black Banx is having a profound impact on the very nature of banking and has established itself rapidly as a key force for innovation and solutions in the evolving wants and needs of customers. Michael Gastauer is a leader putting the personal touch in his businesses.