John de Mol

This year was a good one for the richest people in the Netherlands, according to the Quote 500. The combined wealth of the 500 richest Netherlands residents increased by over 10 percent and the Netherlands now counts a record 37 billionaires. Though for the third year in a row, the magazine mentioned how few women there are in the list - only 37. 

YouTube founder Chad Hurley was announced as a new headliner to replace actor Kevin Spacey at ING's BusinessBoost event in Rotterdam. At the event he will discuss his time at YouTube and the investments he made thereafter.

Hurley founded the video sharing service in 2005, together with two former colleagues from PayPal. A year and a half later they sold the platform to Google for $1.65 billions. Since 2013 he is the co-owner of the video editing and sharing website Mixbit. 

John de Mol's company Talpa withdrew its request for an investigation into the policy and business of the Telegraaf Media Group (TMG), the company announced on Saturday.Talpa wanted to investigate why its bid to take over TMG was rejected, despite being higher than a bid by rival Mediahuis, RTL Nieuws report.

The Dutch media mogul's company also said that it would announce what will happen with its bid for TMG in the near future. De Mol himself previously stated that Talpa will go through with the bid. 

The battle for taking over the Telegraaf Media Group escalated on Sunday. Commissioners on the TMG supervisory board suspended the group's CEO Geert-Jan van der Snoek and CFO Leo Epskamp with immediate effect due to a breach of trust, they announced in a statement on Sunday evening, the Volkskrant reports.

The commissioners also announced a final agreement with a new, slightly higher bid made by Flemish Mediahuis and VP - the investment company of the Van Puijenbroek family. 

The richest people in the Netherlands seem to be doing well for themselves. For the first time since the crisis, the 500 richest Dutch people saw their collective wealth grow by 10 percent. And four new billionaires have been added to the list.

The court in Utrecht sentenced Dirk M., the man who attempted to extort the De Mol family for more than a year, to 441 days in prison, of which 300 days are suspended. He will therefore not have to spend any more time in prison as the 141 days left in his sentence is equal to the time he spent in custody.

The Public Prosecutor's office is now investigating what, if any, possibility exists that the De Mol family extortionist, Dirk M., faked his severe dementia, a condition which cleared him of his alleged crimes. The Public Prosecutor (OM) will discuss the unusual situation with experts on Tuesday in a courthouse in Midden-Nederland, a month after doctors suggested his release from jail, according to broadcaster NOS.

Linda de Mol will abide by the Public Prosecutor's decision to release 70 year old Dirk Klaas M., her manager Xenia Kasper told RTL Boulevard. "Linda has nothing more to add to the statement." M. extorted Linda and her brother John de Mol last year, threatening to harm Linda's children if they did not transfer a large amount of money into his bank account.

The United Kingdom's largest commercial broadcaster ITV is in the process of acquiring Dutch media company Talpa Media for as much as 1.1 billion euros, Bloomberg reports.

The Public Prosecutor confirmed yesterday that 70 year old Dirk-Klaas M., who blackmailed John and Linda de Mol, demanded 5 million euros from the De Mol family, AD reports.

SBS is a hair's breadth away from having the broadcasting rights of football matches in the Champions League. UEFA, who is selling the rights, is currently discussing the matter exclusively with the media company.