Germany’s richest man is set to pocket a cool £7 billion, as his wealth continues to grow. Klaus-Michael Kühne, 87, is one of Germany’s most successful business magnates.
He owns 53% of the maritime and air transport company Kuehne + Nagel, the largest firm in its sector globally. He also holds 15% and 30% stakes in Lufthansa and the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd respectively. The German business tycoon has seen his personal fortune double to a whopping £30 billion in the last five years.
And now he is about to receive another £7 billion windfall from dividends, according to media reports.
The 87-year-old currently lives in Switzerland with his wife Christine, whom he married in 1989 when he was 52.
The couple do not have any children and therefore direct heirs to their fortune.
However, the entrepreneur established a Swiss non-profit foundation back in 1976, which focuses its activity on areas such as logistics, medicine and climate.
Both the Kuehne + Nagel office and foundation are headquartered in Schindellegi, overlooking Lake Zurich.
The origins of the family wealth are shrouded in a certain amount of controversy.
Researchers claim his parents – Alfred and Mercedes Kuehne – benefitted from Nazi policies after 1933, acquiring wealth through the confiscation of Jewish property across Europe.
They claim to have found evidence that the Kuehnes joined the Nazi Party in the 1930s, and by 1944, the company had grown from seven branches to 26 across Europe.
A subsequent Vanity Fair investigation claimed that Alfred Kuehne avoided prosecution after WWII with the help of American and British intelligence agencies.
Along with other German companies, Kuehne + Nagel contributed in 2000 to a £1.9 billion compensation fund for WWII forced labourers.
However, the company refused to open up its archives, claiming they were destroyed during the war.
Born in 1937, Mr Kuehne was a child during the war and is not held accountable for his father’s actions.
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