Susanne Klatten

Susanne Klatten
Born	Susanne Hanna Ursula Quandt 28 4, 1962
Birthplace	Bad Homburg, West Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation	Businesswoman, investor
Known for	Holdings in BMW and Altana; richest woman in Germany
Education	IMD-Lausanne (MBA)
Children	3

Susanne Hanna Ursula Klatten (née Quandt; born 28 April 1962) is a German billionaire businesswoman, investor, and heiress who holds a roughly 19% stake in the automaker BMW and serves as deputy chairwoman of the specialty chemicals company Altana. She is the daughter of the late industrialist Herbert Quandt, who rescued BMW from near-bankruptcy in the late 1950s, and Johanna Quandt, who was a major shareholder in the company until her death in 2015. Together with her brother Stefan Quandt, who owns nearly 24% of BMW, the Quandt siblings control the single largest block of shares in one of the world's most prominent automobile manufacturers. Through her investment holding company SKion GmbH, Klatten has diversified her portfolio into renewable energy, digital printing technology, and other sectors. As of 2022, her net worth was estimated at approximately US$23.4 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making her the wealthiest woman in Germany and among the fifty richest people in the world. By 2026, she remained among the top-ranked billionaires in Germany.

Early Life

Susanne Klatten was born on 28 April 1962 in Bad Homburg, a city in the state of Hesse, West Germany. She was the daughter of Herbert Quandt (1910–1982) and his third wife Johanna Quandt (1926–2015). Her father, Herbert Quandt, was an industrialist whose decisive intervention in 1959 — when he organized a capital increase and acquired a controlling stake in BMW — saved the Bavarian automaker from a potential takeover by Daimler-Benz and from possible insolvency. This act established the Quandt family as the dominant shareholders of BMW, a position the family has maintained for more than six decades.

Klatten has a brother, Stefan Quandt, who is approximately four years younger and who also holds a major BMW shareholding, as well as a half-sister, Silvia Quandt, from Herbert Quandt's earlier marriage. Herbert Quandt died in 1982, when Susanne was twenty years old. The Quandt family fortune, rooted in batteries, textiles, and automotive manufacturing, was subsequently managed by Johanna Quandt until it was divided among the heirs.

The Quandt family's history has been subject to public scrutiny in Germany, particularly regarding the role of the Quandt industrial empire during the Nazi era. Reports have documented the family's use of forced labor during World War II. This historical background has been a recurring topic in German media coverage of the family's wealth and influence.

Klatten reportedly grew up in a private and sheltered environment befitting one of Germany's wealthiest families. In a rare interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel, she discussed the complexities of inheriting great wealth and the responsibilities that accompanied her position.

Education

Klatten pursued her higher education with a focus on business and management. She earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, one of Europe's leading business schools. Prior to her MBA studies, she reportedly worked in various capacities to gain practical business experience, including internships at advertising agencies and financial institutions. According to a widely cited account, she used a pseudonym during one of her early career placements to avoid being treated differently because of her family name. Her education at IMD provided her with the managerial and financial expertise that she would later apply to overseeing her family's vast industrial holdings and her own investment activities.

Career

BMW and the Quandt Family Holdings

Klatten's most prominent business role stems from her ownership stake in Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), the Munich-based luxury automobile and motorcycle manufacturer. She owns approximately 19% of BMW's shares, while her brother Stefan Quandt holds nearly 24%, giving the Quandt siblings effective control of the company with a combined stake of roughly 43%. The siblings inherited their shares following the death of their father Herbert Quandt in 1982, though the holdings were initially managed by their mother Johanna Quandt, who served on BMW's supervisory board until 1997.

As a major shareholder, Klatten has been involved in BMW's strategic direction at the board level. During her tenure as a significant stakeholder, BMW has undergone substantial transformation, including its expansion into electric vehicles and sustainable mobility. The Quandt family's long-standing ownership position has provided BMW with a degree of shareholder stability that distinguishes it from many other major automakers. The dividends from BMW shares constitute a significant portion of Klatten's income and overall wealth.

Altana AG

Beyond BMW, Klatten's most significant direct corporate leadership role has been at Altana AG, a specialty chemicals company based in Wesel, Germany. She serves as deputy chairwoman of Altana's supervisory board. Altana produces specialty chemicals and operates in four divisions: coatings and sealants, printing and packaging, electrical insulation, and additives and instruments. The company was previously a diversified conglomerate that also included a pharmaceutical division, which was sold to the Danish firm Nycomed in 2007.

Under Klatten's oversight, Altana has focused on its core specialty chemicals business and has grown into one of the leading companies in its sector. Klatten holds a majority stake in the company through her investment vehicles, giving her direct operational influence over its strategic direction.

SKion GmbH and Investment Activities

Klatten manages her diversified investment portfolio through SKion GmbH, her private investment holding company. Through SKion, she has made investments across a range of industries, including renewable energy, technology, and advanced manufacturing.

One of SKion's notable investments was in Nordex, a Hamburg-headquartered wind turbine manufacturer. However, in 2025, Klatten sold her remaining shares in Nordex through SKion, exiting the position entirely as part of broader activity in the energy sector equity capital markets.

In 2018, SKion GmbH led a $300 million funding round in Landa Digital Printing, an Israel-based company founded by Benny Landa that develops nanographic printing technology. The investment represented a significant commitment to emerging digital printing technologies. The investment in Landa demonstrated Klatten's willingness to deploy capital into innovative technology ventures beyond her traditional industrial holdings.

Through SKion and other vehicles, Klatten has established herself as one of Germany's most active private investors. Her portfolio reflects a long-term investment horizon with an emphasis on industrial and technology companies, consistent with the Quandt family's broader approach to wealth management and industrial engagement.

Art and Cultural Patronage

In 2017, Klatten inaugurated a nature-themed private art museum in Bavaria. The museum, which houses works centered on nature and landscape themes, was opened by Klatten as a cultural contribution and reflected her interest in the arts. The opening of the museum was covered internationally and represented one of Klatten's more visible public endeavors outside the corporate sphere.

Personal Life

Klatten has three children. She is known for maintaining a high degree of privacy, rarely giving interviews or making public appearances. In a 2015 interview with Der Spiegel, she discussed her relationship with wealth and the challenges of being one of Germany's richest individuals, a rare moment of public candor for the typically reserved businesswoman.

In 2007 and 2008, Klatten became the target of a high-profile blackmail scheme. A Swiss-Italian man named Helg Sgarbi, who had cultivated a romantic relationship with Klatten, secretly recorded their encounters and subsequently attempted to extort approximately €80 million from her by threatening to release the material. Klatten reported the blackmail attempt to the authorities. Sgarbi was arrested, tried, and convicted in 2009, receiving a prison sentence of six years.

A separate individual, Ernano Barretta, was also convicted in connection with blackmail attempts targeting Klatten and was sentenced to prison.

In 2018, German media reported that Klatten had separated from her husband, Jan Klatten.

Recognition

Klatten has been consistently ranked among the wealthiest individuals in the world by major financial publications. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated her net worth at US$23.4 billion as of January 2022, placing her as the 50th richest person globally and the wealthiest woman in Germany. Forbes has similarly tracked her wealth over many years, listing her among the most prominent members of the global billionaire class.

In 2026, she continued to rank among the richest people in Germany, reflecting the sustained value of her BMW holdings, Altana stake, and diversified investment portfolio. Her wealth is primarily derived from the BMW shareholding, which generates substantial dividend income, as well as from her controlling interest in Altana and the various investments held through SKion GmbH.

Klatten's position as one of the few women to control major industrial stakes in Germany's corporate landscape has drawn significant media attention. Leaders League noted her role in overseeing strategic developments at BMW, including the company's push into electric vehicles. Her opening of a private art museum in Bavaria in 2017 also received international media coverage, highlighting her activities beyond the corporate domain.

Legacy

Susanne Klatten represents the third generation of the Quandt family's involvement in German industry. Her father Herbert Quandt's rescue of BMW in 1959 is regarded as one of the most consequential decisions in the history of the German automotive industry, and the family's continued ownership of BMW has provided the company with a stable shareholder base that has allowed long-term strategic planning.

Through her stewardship of the BMW stake, her leadership at Altana, and her investment activities through SKion GmbH, Klatten has expanded the Quandt family's business interests beyond the automotive sector into specialty chemicals, renewable energy, digital printing technology, and other fields. Her $300 million investment in Landa Digital Printing exemplified a willingness to engage with emerging technologies.

As the wealthiest woman in Germany, Klatten occupies a prominent position in German business life, though she has largely chosen to exercise her influence through board positions and investment decisions rather than public advocacy. Her preference for privacy stands in contrast to the scale of her economic influence. The Quandt family's combined BMW stake — approximately 43% shared between Klatten and her brother Stefan — ensures that the family remains one of the most influential forces in the global automotive industry.

The blackmail cases that targeted Klatten in the late 2000s brought unwanted public attention but also highlighted the security and privacy challenges faced by individuals of extreme wealth. Klatten's decision to report the blackmail to authorities, despite the personal embarrassment involved, was noted in media coverage as a decisive response.