Ridder was one of the sons of
Herman Ridder, who founded the New York German-language newspaper
Staats-Zeitung und Herold. He graduated from
Columbia University in 1903 and joined the family paper shortly afterwards. In 1915, he became the president of the family paper. In 1927, he and his brothers purchased
The New York Journal of Commerce and
The St. Paul Dispatch and
The Pioneer Press. == References ==