Klaus-Michael Kühne (born 2 June 1937) is a German billionaire businessman. As of October 2021, the ''
Bloomberg Billionaires Index'' estimated Kühne's net worth to be US$36.2 billion, making him the richest person in Germany.
He is the honorary chairman and majority owner (53.3%) of the international transport company
Kühne + Nagel, co-founded by his grandfather,
August Kühne (1855–1932).
Career
In 1963, he joined his father
Alfred Kühne (1895–1981) as a junior partner at Kühne + Nagel. He has lived in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
since 1975 in the city of
Schindellegi, the location of the Kühne + Nagel headquarters. He became CEO of the company in 1996.
He also runs Kuhne Holding AG. In 2016, the company acquired 20% of VTG, a rail logistics company.
In April 2020, Kühne upped his stake in shipping company
Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company. Hapag-Lloyd was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd.
History
The company was formed on September 1, 1 ...
to 30%, having previously owned 26% of the business, making him the largest shareholder.
In 2022, he doubled his stake in
Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
, Germany's largest airline.
Honors
The
Kühne Logistics University
Kuehne Logistics University – Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Logistik und Unternehmensführung (KLU) is a private, state-recognized business school (Wirtschaftshochschule) based in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded by the Kühne Stiftung (Kuehn ...
in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
is named after him.
See also
*
List of US-dollar billionaires in Germany
*
Kühne School of Logistics and Management
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhne, Klaus-Michael
German billionaires
Businesspeople from Hamburg
German expatriates in Switzerland
Living people
1937 births
German businesspeople in transport
20th-century German businesspeople
21st-century German businesspeople