Klaus-Michael Kühne, majority owner and longtime leader of logistics giant Kühne+Nagel, has died at age 89. The company confirmed his passing in a statement on Monday, noting he had served as chairman and remained a board member until his death.
Kühne transformed Kühne+Nagel from a Germany-focused freight forwarder into a global logistics enterprise over more than six decades. He joined the family business in 1958 at age 21 after completing a commercial apprenticeship, becoming CEO in 1966 and retaining operational control for decades. He later served as chairman before stepping back to a board role in later years. "With his passing, we lose a visionary, a great entrepreneur and an impressive personality," Kühne+Nagel Chairman Jörg Wolle said in a statement.
Born in Hamburg in 1937, Kühne relocated to Switzerland in the late 1960s with his father, establishing the company’s headquarters in Schindellegi. According to German business magazine Manager Magazin, which first reported the death, he had returned from Mallorca to Switzerland about ten days prior and entered medical treatment. He is survived by his wife, Christine, with no children.
Kühne’s fortune, estimated by Bilanz magazine at 21 to 22 billion Swiss francs in its annual ranking of Switzerland’s wealthiest, is expected to transfer to the Kühne Foundation following his death. His holdings also included significant stakes in Lufthansa, shipping group Hapag-Lloyd, chemical logistics firm Brenntag, mobility provider Flix and Hamburg-based football club HSV.
