Günther Jauch

In 2015, shortly after Stefan Raab announced the end of his TV career, Jauch declared publicly that he intended to gradually reduce his TV appearances; stating that he will eventually give up his political talk show Günther Jauch on ARD and to focus on his other TV shows such as Wer wird Millionär? on RTL.

In order to ensure that the winery was not going to be sold to a party outside the family, Jauch decided to buy it. One of the previous owners had been Jauch's famous great-great-uncle, Franz Weißebach. According to the VDP, the vineyard is a gem of a vineyard, rare in its quality and attractive location. In 2011, Jauch acquired a further vineyard (Wawerner Herrenberg) in Wawern that is 3.5 acres. It had also belonged to his ancestor Emmerich Grach. Jauch also co-produced wines that supermarket chain Aldi has been selling under his name since 2018.

Jauch also continues a 200 year-old family tradition of wine-growing. In 2010, he successfully applied for membership in the German Prädikat Wine Estates VDP (German: "Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter"), in order to acquire a relative's vineyard (Othegraven in Kanzem) which was approved by VDP that certifies Germany's wines that meet the organizations requirements. The entire property, including a mansion and an English Garden, has been subject to preservation orders since 2003.

Jauch's ancestress on his grandmother's side, Anna Weißebach, founded the Caritas Konferenzen, the German branch of the International Association of Charities. Jauch's own family set up soup kitchens in Hamburg as early as the 19th and 20th century and founded and maintained poorhouses in Hamburg and other places. In line with his family's tradition of charitable foundations, Jauch endowed the founding of a branch of Die Arche in Drewitz (Potsdam) in 2009, which provides free meals for children in need. He also covers ongoing property and personnel expenses. Die Arche – Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk e.V. is a Christian organisation for children and adolescents.

After 18 years of common-law marriage, Jauch married Thea in the Orangerie at Schloss Sanssouci in Potsdam in 2006. He is a member of the Hamburg Jauch family.

Jauch wanted to legally prohibit any type of media coverage in the preparation of his wedding in July 2006. The Landgericht Berlin granted him an interim injunction against the newspaper Bild and other publications of the Springer publishing house. The Kammergericht Berlin, however, decided against a prohibition of general media coverage in June 2006 due to his celebrity status. According to the judges, they were allowed to report about the date and place of the wedding. After the magazine Bunte published photos of the wedding and details about the ceremony, Thea Jauch went to court against the publishing house to demand damages and compensation for pain and suffering totalling 325,000 Euros. The Landgericht Hamburg awarded her only 25,000 Euros compensation in January 2008. The judgment was set aside by the Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in October 2008. As a public figure, interest in Jauch's wedding was legitimate, it said. An anew appeal was refused by the Federal Constitutional Court. The demand for damages by Jauch in a separate lawsuit was in vain as well.

In 2005, Jauch was named by Stern magazine the most famous German in the world. In late 2006, Jauch announced that he would only host the first broadcast of the Four Hills Tournament (from Oberstdorf) and celebrate New Year's Eve with his family. Jauch had hosted all events of the Four Hills Tournament since 2000. The 2007 season tournaments from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen were hosted by Marco Schreyl instead.

Jauch is characterised by his secluded lifestyle. He stated in interviews that he takes the liberty of leading a life that does not correspond to his supposed economic possibilities. According to his own statement, he has spent considerable amounts of his income, including all the profit from advertising jobs, on charitable causes since the early years of his career. In 2002, he made significant financial contributions to the reconstruction of the Fortunaportal (Gate of the Fortuna) at the Potsdam Stadtschloss city palace. Jauch has also given financial support to other projects in Potsdam, e.g. the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, (where he got married in 2006), the Potsdam city canal, the Kloebersaal, a hall in the north wing of the Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), which is opposite his villa at Heiligen See lake, as well as the restoration of the Neptungrotte (Neptune Grotto) in the palace gardens of Schloss Sanssouci. Furthermore, he supported the construction of the Marienschule Potsdam, a co-educational Roman-Catholic school for primary and secondary education, which belongs to the archdiocese of Berlin. The prime minister of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, called him a citizen every mayor could ever wish for. Jauch was an ambassador for the Berlin Pro-Reli-Kampagne, a petition which aimed to change the Education Act of the state of Berlin in order to introduce religious studies as an elective subject instead of ethics as a sole compulsory subject. The campaign eventually failed in April 2009.

Jauch and Thea have two biological daughters, Svenja (born in 1989) and Kristin (born in 1993). The couple adopted two orphaned daughters in 1997 and 2000, named Katja and Masha.

In the 1980s, Jauch worked for radio programs of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Jauch has produced and hosted the prime time TV programme stern TV [de], a television news magazine programme, on the private German RTL national TV network since 1990. The programme caused some sensation due to the transmission of falsified articles delivered by the journalist Michael Born who was subsequently convicted to a four-year prison sentence in 1996, a few other prominent German TV networks had also been deceived with such material. In January 2011, after celebrating the end of his 21-year reign hosting stern TV [de], Jauch will now host a weekly political talkshow on the national German public TV network Das Erste ("The First").

Günther Johannes Jauch (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʏntɐ joˈhanəs ˈjaʊx]; born 13 July 1956) is a German television presenter, television producer, and journalist.

Jauch's family has been running the winery since 1805, when his ancestor and merchant Emmerich Grach bought the property. Jauch's grandmother Elsa von Othegraven, his grandfather Hans Jauch and his father Ernst-Alfred Jauch were part of the community of heirs. However, in 1996 the winery was inherited by a distant relative.