Yahoo Finance Hated Hoffenheim owner takes coronavirus vaccine stand against Trump
Some German soccer fans may hate Dietmar Hopp, the owner of Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, but they may be forced to reevaluate their feelings after Hopp stood up for the worldwide availability of any successful vaccine for the coronavirus.
Hopp also owns the German company CureVac, which is currently developing a potential vaccine for the coronavirus. Reuters reported on Sunday that President Donald Trump’s administration has been looking into how to get access to CureVac’s potential vaccine, and the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported that Trump offered CureVac money to move to the United States and make the vaccine exclusively for the U.S.
The U.S. ambassador to Germany denied the Welt report.
“The Welt story was wrong,” U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Grinnell said.
If CureVac develops a successful coronavirus vaccine, Hopp wants it to be available to everyone around the world.
Dietmar Hopp, the billionaire who owns 80% of CureVac (and, ahem, 96% of Hoffenheim), put out a statement saying "This vaccine should be available not only regionally, but to people all over the world" pic.twitter.com/lK5XcXHn5a
— Damian Garde (@damiangarde) March 15, 2020
“This vaccine should be available not only regionally, but to people all over the world in solidarity to help and protect them.”
Hopp is far from beloved by Bundesliga fans, who despise him for undermining German soccer culture by throwing his money around. Hopp supported Hoffenheim financially for two decades before he was allowed to take over the club in 2015, and fans believe that Hopp bought his team’s success. He’s been the subject of derisive chants and banners at numerous games.
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