Susanne Klatten
German businesswoman; major shareholder of BMW and founder of the investment company SKion, owner of the chemicals group Altana
| Susanne Klatten
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Susanne Klatten |
| Born | 28 April 1962 (Forbes) |
| Nationality | German |
| Residence | Bad Homburg, Germany (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businesswoman, investor |
| Known for | Major shareholder of BMW; SKion GmbH; Altana; founder of UnternehmerTUM |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
| Sibling(s) | Stefan Quandt |
| Education | IMD (MBA) (Forbes) |
Susanne Klatten (born 1962) is a German businesswoman and one of the two largest shareholders of the carmaker BMW. According to BMW, as of July 2026 her direct and indirect holdings amounted to 20.5% of its voting capital.[1] Her investment company SKion owns all of the chemicals group Altana and is the largest shareholder of SGL Carbon. In mid-2024 she transferred more than 99% of SKion to her three adult children, remaining its managing director.[2][3] She is the sister of Stefan Quandt, BMW's other major shareholder.[4] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Susanne Klatten 109th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$23.94 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as BMW, pharmaceuticals.[4][5] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Susanne Klatten 79th, at US$29.7 billion.[6] In 2002 she founded UnternehmerTUM, a centre for business creation at the Technical University of Munich.[7][8] She and her brother have been regular large donors to the CDU and occasionally the FDP.[9][10][11]
Early life and family
Forbes gives her date of birth as 28 April 1962 and lists an MBA from IMD. It describes her as an economist and says her late mother, Johanna, was the third wife of the industrialist Herbert Quandt, who guided BMW in the luxury market.[4] Forbes also notes that her grandfather Günther Quandt was a Nazi-era industrialist.[4]
In 2011 a study commissioned by the children and grandchildren of Günther and Herbert Quandt was published. Written by the Bonn historian Joachim Scholtyseck and titled Der Aufstieg der Quandts, it examined the family's history under National Socialism. Scholtyseck told Deutschlandfunk that the family had given him access to its private archive and no right to intervene in what he wrote. He said Günther Quandt bore direct responsibility for wrongs involving about 50,000 forced labourers in companies he controlled, and had also profited from "Aryanisation", the Nazi-era seizure of businesses.[12]
Business interests
Klatten's BMW stake is held directly and indirectly; BMW gave it as 20.5% of voting capital as of 31 July 2026.[1] Forbes puts it at about 19%.[4]
According to Altana's 2024 corporate report, all the shares in Altana AG are held by SKion GmbH, an investment company based in Bad Homburg. Klatten was SKion's sole shareholder until mid-2024, when she transferred more than 99% of it in equal parts to her three adult children and kept less than 1%.[2] In June 2024 SGL Carbon said that voting rights held through SKion were no longer attributable to her, but that SKion remained its largest shareholder with 28.55%. Klatten had said in an interview that she would stay on as SKion's managing director during a transition lasting several years.[3] She is deputy chair of Altana's supervisory board.[13] Forbes says she helped turn Altana into a pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals company and also holds stakes in Entrust and SGL.[4]
Blackmail case
In March 2009 the Munich regional court sentenced Helg Sgarbi, a Swiss man, to six years in prison after a trial of less than five hours. He had confessed to defrauding and blackmailing Klatten and other women of almost €9.4 million. He was convicted of fraud in four cases, attempted fraud and attempted blackmail, and Klatten was not required to testify.[14]
Wealth
Forbes gives BMW and pharmaceuticals as her sources of wealth and classes the fortune as inherited.[4] Her share of the economic interest in SKion's holdings has fallen since the 2024 transfer to her children.[2]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 24 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2003. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[6][4]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 57 | 5.3 |
| 2004 | 40 | 8.1 |
| 2005 | 46 | 8.2 |
| 2006 | 60 | 8.1 |
| 2007 | 68 | 9.6 |
| 2008 | 55 | 13.2 |
| 2009 | 35 | 10.0 |
| 2010 | 51 | 11.1 |
| 2011 | 44 | 14.6 |
| 2012 | 59 | 13.0 |
| 2013 | 58 | 14.3 |
| 2014 | 49 | 17.4 |
| 2015 | 54 | 16.8 |
| 2016 | 38 | 18.5 |
| 2017 | 38 | 20.4 |
| 2018 | 32 | 25.0 |
| 2019 | 46 | 21.0 |
| 2020 | 54 | 16.8 |
| 2021 | 53 | 27.7 |
| 2022 | 56 | 24.3 |
| 2023 | 51 | 27.4 |
| 2024 | 71 | 26.5 |
| 2025 | 78 | 25.2 |
| 2026 | 79 | 29.7 |
Philanthropy
In 2002 Klatten founded UnternehmerTUM as a non-profit organisation at the Technical University of Munich. The university announced at the time that she would provide start-up funding of about €2.8 million over five years.[8][7] UnternehmerTUM describes itself as Europe's leading centre for innovation and business creation.[7] Altana lists her as holding an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Buckingham.[13]
Political activity
Klatten has made large donations, mostly to the CDU, that the Bundestag published under the party-funding rules. On 9 October 2013 she, her mother Johanna Quandt and her brother Stefan Quandt each gave €230,000 to the CDU, a total of €690,000, and each also gave €70,000 to the FDP.[9][15] The CDU payments came weeks after the federal election, and Der Spiegel noted that they coincided with Germany's successful push to reopen an EU agreement on car CO2 limits. The lobbying watchdog LobbyControl criticised the donations.[15][16] Der Spiegel reported that the three had each given the CDU €150,000 after the 2009 election.[15] Since 2017 the Bundestag has published further donations from her of between €50,001 and €75,000 a year, mostly to the CDU, the most recent in September 2024.[17][18][19][20][21][22][10][11] No donation from her above the publication threshold appears in the Bundestag lists for 2025 or 2026 checked for this profile.[23]
| Year | Party | Amount (€) | Date received (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | CDU | 230,000 | 9 October |
| 2013 | FDP | 70,000 | 9 October |
| 2017 | FDP | 50,001 | 23 June |
| 2017 | CDU | 50,001 | 26 June |
| 2018 | CDU | 50,001 | 2 July |
| 2018 | CDU | 75,000 | 25 July |
| 2019 | CDU | 50,001 | 10 July |
| 2020 | CDU | 50,001 | 1 July |
| 2021 | CDU | 50,001 | 1 July (date of publication) |
| 2022 | CDU | 50,001 | 29 July |
| 2023 | CDU | 50,001 | 30 June |
| 2023 | CDU | 75,000 | 21 September |
| 2024 | CDU | 50,001 | 3 September |
Controversies and legal issues
See the 2013 CDU donation under Political activity, the Scholtyseck study under Early life and family, and Blackmail case, in which she was the victim.[15][12][14]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
Company level: BMW, of which she is a major shareholder, raised its stake in its Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive to 75% in February 2022 and extended the joint-venture contract to 2040.[24][1]
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Germany: regular large donations to the CDU and, in 2013 and 2017, the FDP, as published by the Bundestag. The October 2013 family donation to the CDU drew criticism because it coincided with the government's intervention on EU car-emission limits.[9][17][16]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 BMW Group, BMW shares: shareholder structure BMW Group Investor Relations, as of 31 July 2026; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 ALTANA AG, Group Basics (Corporate Report 2024, group management report) ALTANA AG, 2025 (report for 2024); read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SGL Carbon, Clarification on the voting rights notification of Dr. Susanne Klatten dated June 25, 2024 SGL Carbon SE (press release), 25 June 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Susanne Klatten (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/susanne-klatten/) Forbes, live record, read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 UnternehmerTUM, Facts and Figures about UnternehmerTUM UnternehmerTUM (official website), undated; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Technische Universität München, UnternehmerTUM GmbH weist Studenten und Wissenschaftlern Wege in die Selbstständigkeit (UnternehmerTUM GmbH shows students and scientists the way to self-employment) TUM (press release), 21 February 2002, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2013 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2013) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2013; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2023 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2023) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2023; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 35.000 € – Jahr 2024 (Party donations over €35,000 – 2024) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2024; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Christoph Heinemann (interview with Joachim Scholtyseck), Profiteure von "Arisierung" und Zwangsarbeit (Profiteers of "Aryanisation" and forced labour) Deutschlandfunk, 23 September 2011, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 ALTANA AG, Management (Vorstand und Aufsichtsrat) (Management board and supervisory board) ALTANA AG (official website), undated; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Der Spiegel, Blitz-Urteil: Klattens Erpresser zu sechs Jahren Haft verurteilt (Swift verdict: Klatten's blackmailer sentenced to six years in prison) Der Spiegel, 9 March 2009, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Der Spiegel, CDU erhält Riesenspende von BMW-Großaktionären (CDU receives huge donation from BMW major shareholders) Der Spiegel, 15 October 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Der Spiegel (international edition), Donation from BMW Owners Raises Eyebrows Spiegel International, 15 October 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2017 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2017) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2017; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2018 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2018) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2018; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2019 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2019) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2019; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2020 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2020) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2020; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2021 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2021) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2021; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 50.000 € – Jahr 2022 (Party donations over €50,000 – 2022) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2022; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Deutscher Bundestag, Parteispenden über 35.000 € – Jahr 2025 (Party donations over €35,000 – 2025) Deutscher Bundestag (published under section 25(3) of the Political Parties Act), list for 2025; read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ BMW Group, BMW Group strengthens partnership in China: Extension of Joint Venture Contract until 2040 enters into force BMW Group PressClub, 11 February 2022, accessed 21 October 2026.