A 19.2% stake in the automotive manufacturer BMW stands as one of the primary components of Susanne Klatten’s multi-billion dollar fortune. Born in 1962 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, she navigated her early professional career under the pseudonym Susanne Kant to gain experience at firms like Young & Rubicam and McKinsey without the influence of her family name.
Early Career and Education
Klatten attended the Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium before pursuing higher education at the University of Buckingham, graduating in 1980. She later earned a Master of Business Administration from the IMD Business School in Lausanne. Between 1981 and 1983, she held a position at the advertising agency Young & Rubicam in Frankfurt. Her professional development included roles at Dresdner Bank and Bankhaus Reuschel & Co in London, providing a foundation in finance and management.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Industrial Holdings and Altana
Upon the death of her father, Herbert Quandt, Klatten inherited a 50.1% interest in the pharmaceutical and chemicals manufacturer Altana. Under her tenure on the supervisory board, the firm shifted its strategic focus. In 2006, Altana sold its pharmaceutical division to Nycomed for €4.5 billion, distributing the proceeds to shareholders. By 2009, Klatten moved to consolidate her ownership, purchasing the remaining shares to make Altana a wholly owned entity. She also holds a 46% stake in Landa Digital Printing through her holding company, SKion.
The Quandt Family History
In 2007, a documentary titled The Silence of the Quandts examined the history of the family’s business activities during the Second World War. The film highlighted the employment of slave labourers within their factories during the Nazi regime. The family subsequently commissioned historian Joachim Scholtyseck to lead an independent research project. Released in 2011, the resulting 1,200-page report concluded that the family’s business operations were linked to wartime crimes.
Personal and Legal Matters
Klatten married engineer Jan Klatten in 1990; the couple had three children before separating in 2018. Her personal life became a subject of public scrutiny in 2007 when she became the victim of a blackmail scheme orchestrated by Helg Sgarbi and Ernano Barretta. Both individuals were later prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms for their roles in the extortion plot. Klatten remains active in institutional roles, serving as a member of the University Council of the Technical University of Munich since 2005.
Fast facts
- Born: 1962, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe
- Citizenship: Germany
- Education: University of Buckingham, IMD Business School
- Bavarian Order of Merit: 2007
- Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany: 2005
- BMW ownership stake: 19.2% as of 2015
Questions readers ask
What is the source of Susanne Klatten's wealth?
Her wealth is primarily derived from inheritances left by her parents, Herbert and Johanna Quandt, specifically significant stakes in BMW and the chemical company Altana.
Did the Quandt family address their history during World War II?
Yes, in response to a 2007 documentary, the family funded an independent 1,200-page historical study by Joachim Scholtyseck, which was published in 2011 and documented the use of slave labour in their wartime factories.
Achievements
- Bavarian Order of Merit — 2007
- Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany — 2005
- Educated at University of Buckingham and International Institute for Management Development
