The King of Germany Will Accept Your Bank Deposits Now
Peter Fitzek is part of a movement that denies Germany’s existence. He founded his own kingdom and bank—then the government started asking where the money went.
Fitzek
Photographer: Bastian Thiery for Bloomberg Businessweek
Peter Fitzek is the king of Germany. At 54, he has the ponytail and square jaw of an ’80s-movie terrorist—or perhaps a karate instructor, which in fact he was before ascending to the throne. Like other monarchs, Peter tends to be identified by his first name. His dominion offers its own passport, currency, and health-care plan, and it boasts more than 1,300 subjects, some of whom live in a sprawling compound in Wittenberg, 60 miles southwest of Berlin. Most important, he rose alongside a woman tabloids called his queen: Annett Ullmann, a model and waitress who was brunette and beautiful and wore lavender silk shirts to his court appearances.