When Friedrich Alfred Krupp dies suddenly in 1902 at the early age of 48 his elder daughter Bertha Krupp inherits the company. By will of the late owner the company is converted into a stock corporation in 1903. The heiress retains all the stock apart from the four shares required by law. The company's management is now in the hands of the directors and supervisory board. As Bertha Krupp is still a minor, her mother, Margarethe Krupp, exercises her rights as proprietor and thus takes over the helm of the company. In 1906 Bertha Krupp marries the counselor of legation Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, who is granted the right by royal Prussian decree to bear the name Krupp as a prefix to his own family surname. At the end of 1906 he is appointed vice chairman of the supervisory board of Fried. Krupp AG and from 1909 to the end of 1943 acts as its chairman. In the subsequent years the company undergoes strong expansion.
