Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, 70, was photographed walking alongside Gloria-Sophie Burkandt, 27, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.
The images, first published by German newspaper BILD, showed the pair flanked by security in the Swiss resort on 21 January 2026.
Burkandt is the eldest daughter of Markus Söder, 59, Bavaria's minister-president and leader of the conservative Christian Social Union. Schmidt is 11 years older than her father.
A source close to Schmidt told the New York Post that the pair were 'close friends' and that the connection was not romantic.
BILD disputed that. The newspaper cited sources in Schmidt's inner circle who said the pair had been together 'almost daily for weeks', including over the New Year period.
Neither Schmidt nor Burkandt has made a public statement.
Who Is Gloria-Sophie Burkandt
Burkandt, who stands 6ft 2in, is a model signed to Elite who has appeared in Vogue Turkey and worked with brands including Miu Miu and Tom Ford, the Daily Beast reported.
She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics and is working on a PhD thesis in New York. She divides her time between a luxury apartment in Manhattan's Midtown South, Munich and Los Angeles.
The pair are believed to have met at Harvard University in November 2025, BILD reported. They were reportedly expected to attend the Munich Security Conference together between 13 and 15 February 2026.
Burkandt is a member of her father's CSU party and has spoken publicly about technology and European policy. She wrote on Instagram after Davos that 'listening to the conversations around AI and the future of Europe was deeply moving for me'.
She previously drew headlines in Germany for a different reason. On a televised game show, she struggled with basic general knowledge questions, including failing to identify former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
She also wrote for Teen Vogue in December 2022 about experiencing sexual harassment and assault in her professional life, saying she had been 'touched inappropriately by my boss' during an internship at the age of 18.
Schmidt's 46-Year Marriage and Previous Relationships
Schmidt has been married to Wendy Schmidt since 1980. The couple have been together for 46 years and continues to appear publicly together. Wendy Schmidt regularly posts photographs with him on social media.
Media reports have described the marriage as an open arrangement for years. Neither Eric nor Wendy Schmidt has publicly confirmed or denied this. A source told the New York Post that the arrangement was 'known for years'.
Schmidt has previously been linked to younger women. He was photographed with socialite Kate Bohner at the Burning Man festival in 2010 in images published by Gawker. He has also been linked to former Olympic figure skater Alexandra Duisberg.
His most recent public relationship before Burkandt was with Michelle Ritter, a Columbia Law School graduate and founder of AI startup Steel Perlot.
That ended in a legal fight. In December 2024, Ritter filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Schmidt in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accusing him of stalking, digital surveillance and what she described as 'toxic masculinity', the New York Post reported.
Ritter alleged Schmidt had created 'an absolute digital surveillance system' around her and locked her out of Steel Perlot's website. Schmidt had invested $100m in the company.
Schmidt's legal team called Ritter's claims 'demonstrably false' and 'a blatant abuse of the judicial system'. Ritter withdrew the restraining order request in January 2025 after the pair reached a settlement requiring Schmidt to make 'substantial payments'. The dispute continued. A court hearing was set for December 2025 in downtown Los Angeles.
A source who worked for Steel Perlot told the Daily Mail the filing was retaliation after Schmidt launched arbitration proceedings against Ritter for allegedly breaching a business agreement.
Schmidt's Career and Wealth
Schmidt led Google as chief executive from 2001 to 2011, a period during which the company grew into one of the world's largest technology firms.
He then served as executive chairman of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, from 2011 to 2017. He continued as a technical adviser until 2020. He also chaired the Pentagon's Defence Innovation Advisory Board from 2016 to 2020.
In March 2025, Schmidt became chief executive of Relativity Space, a Long Beach, California, rocket startup developing the Terran R launch vehicle. He also took a controlling stake in the company. The move was his first chief executive role in nearly 15 years, TechCrunch reported.
His net worth is $54.6bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Why the Story Has Attracted Attention
The 43-year age gap between Schmidt and Burkandt, combined with Burkandt's political connections and Schmidt's history of public relationships, has generated extensive coverage in German and American media.
BILD ran one headline asking, 'Who is the woman Eric Schmidt (70) has fallen in love with?' alongside a photograph of Burkandt wearing a dirndl, the traditional Bavarian dress.
Euronews reported the connection had raised questions in German media about potential political implications, given Schmidt's influence on technology policy and Söder's position as one of Germany's most prominent conservative leaders.
A post on X about the pair, published on 10 February, drew more than 823,000 views within hours.
Neither Schmidt's representatives nor Burkandt have responded to requests for comment.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
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