Kuehne is the honorary chairman and majority owner of Kuehne + Nagel, the world’s largest sea-freight forwarder. The Schindellegi, Switzerland-based company ships more than 4 million container units annually. He also owns about 24% of publicly traded Hapag-Lloyd, a Hamburg-based container-shipping business.
Klaus-Michael Kuehne's net worth of $17.2B can buy ...
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The majority of Klaus-Michael Kuehne's wealth is derived from a 53% stake in Kuehne + Nagel, the world’s largest sea-freight forwarder, according to its website. The company, which the billionaire controls through Kuehne Holding, transferred 4.7 million TEU container units in 2018, according to its annual report.
He also owns about one-quarter of container-shipping company Hapag-Lloyd through Kuehne Maritime, according to company's 2018 annual report.
He's collected more than 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in dividends, according to company filings and an analysis of Bloomberg data. The value of his cash investments is based on these proceeds, as well as insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
Kuehne's stake in Hamburg SV, a German football club, is based on the minimum amount he is said to have invested in the club, according to an Aug. 17, 2017 report.
Inge Lauble, a spokeswoman at Kuehne + Nagel, declined to comment on the calculation.
Grandfather August Kuehne and his partner Friedrich Nagel founded transportation and logistics company Kuehne + Nagel in Bremen, Germany, in 1890. Klaus-Michael was born in 1937, and joined the family business in 1958, following a banking apprenticeship. He was appointed CEO of the Hamburg, Germany-based company eight years later, and began a global expansion by focusing on acquisitions.
Purchasing competitors, he increased Kuehne + Nagel's market share in areas where it had a limited presence, such as road and contract logistics. He joined the board of directors after resigning as CEO, in 1975. He was named executive chairman of the board in 1992, and was appointed the company's honorary chairman in 2011.
Kuehne and a group of investors made a successful bid in 2008 for a majority stake in Hapag-Lloyd, Europe’s fourth-largest container-shipping line. He lives in Schindellegi, Switzerland, with his wife, Christine, and is chairman of his namesake foundation.