Stefan Quandt

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Stefan Quandt
Quandt in 2015
Born (1966-05-09) 9 May 1966 (age 57)
EducationKarlsruhe Institute of Technology
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse
Katharina Quandt
(m. 2005)
Children1
Parent(s)Herbert Quandt
Johanna Quandt
RelativesSusanne Klatten (sister)
Silvia Quandt (half-sister)

Stefan Quandt (born 9 May 1966) is a German billionaire heir, engineer and industrialist. As of October 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$23.2 billion[1] and ranked at number 89 on Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[2]

Early life

Quandt was born in Bad Homburg to Herbert Quandt, a German industrialist and prominent Nazi,[3] and Johanna Quandt. He earned a degree from the University of Karlsruhe where he studied economics and engineering,[1] from 1987 to 1993.

Career

From 1993–1994, Quandt worked for the

Datacard Group of Minneapolis
as a marketing manager in Hong Kong.

BMW

On his father's death in 1982 Quandt inherited 17.4% of BMW,[4] the company his father had saved from bankruptcy in 1959. From further purchases he later owned 23.7% of the company.[1] Following his mother’s death in 2015, Quandt’s voting stake in BMW temporarily increased to 34.19 percent, above a 30 percent threshold which triggered a compulsory takeover offer under German rules.[5] He subsequently asked the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to be excused from these rules.[6]

In 2018, Quandt became BMW’s largest single shareholder when his direct ownership increased with shares inherited from his mother, giving him a so-called “blocking stake” of 25.83 percent, worth 13.4 billion euros ($16.6 billion).[7] He currently[when?] serves BMW as a deputy chairman of the supervisory board.[8]

Delton

Quandt also inherited from his father substantial holdings in other companies, many of which he has been running through his holding company, Delton AG, since 1989. These include:

With his mother, Quandt owned 18.3% of

Gemplus International, a large digital security company, before its merger to form Gemalto
in 2006.

Aqton

With a second holding company, Aqton SE, Quandt manages other investments, including in renewable energies:[11]

  • Heliatek, organic solar panels
  • Solarwatt, manufacturer of PV panels, solar batteries and energy management solutions
  • Kiwigrid, grid based renewable energy solution for utilities
  • BHF, financial services[12]

Philanthropy

Through the non-profit Aqtivator, Quandt supports projects for children, youth, and families with a focus on education, integration, and equal opportunity.[13][14]

Other activities

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Political activities

Following the 2013 elections, Quandt – together with his mother and his sister – made donations to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) totaling 690,000 euros.[22][23] Ahead of the 2017 elections, he gave 50,000 euros each to both the CDU and liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).[24]

Personal life

In autumn 2005, Quandt married Katharina, a software engineer. They have a daughter, born on New Year's Eve that same year. He generally keeps a low profile. They live in Frankfurt, Germany.[1]

The Silence of the Quandts

The

slave labourers in the family's factories during World War II. As a result, five days after the showing,[27] four family members announced, on behalf of the entire Quandt family, their intention to fund a research project in which a historian will examine the family's activities during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship.[28] The independent 1,200-page study researched and compiled by Bonn historian, Joachim Scholtyseck, that was released in 2011 concluded: "The Quandts were linked inseparably with the crimes of the Nazis".[27] As of 2008 no compensation, apology or memorial at the site of one of their factories, have been permitted.[26] BMW was not implicated in the report.[27]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Forbes profile: Stefan Quandt". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index - # 89 Stefan Quandt $21.2B". Bloomberg L.P. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. ^ "The Silence of the Quandts: The history of a wealthy German family". World Socialist Web Site. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  4. ^ BMW Group : BMW AG share & dept : Shareholder structure
  5. ^ Edward Taylor (11 August 2015), BMW heir Stefan Quandt asks for exemption from takeover bid rule Reuters.
  6. ^ Edward Taylor (11 August 2015), BMW heir Stefan Quandt asks for exemption from takeover bid rule Reuters.
  7. ^ Edward Taylor, Alexander Huebner and Irene Preisinger (20 February 2018), Stefan Quandt becomes BMW's most powerful shareholder Reuters.
  8. ^ "BMW Group : Investor Relations : Supervisory Board".
  9. Bloomberg Business
    .
  10. Bloomberg Business
    .
  11. ^ Handelsblatt: BMW Battery Baron at Full Power
  12. ^ Edward Taylor (29 July 2015), BHF shareholder AQTON: 5.10 eur offer from FOSUN too low Reuters.
  13. ^ Christopher Stolz (10 June 2021), Das sind die fünf reichsten Menschen Deutschlands Der Tagesspiegel.
  14. ^ Dietmar Student and Martin Noé (20 June 2019), Susanne Klatten und Stefan Quandt im Interview: "Wer würde denn mit uns tauschen wollen?" Manager Magazin.
  15. ^ Christopher Stolz (10 June 2021), Das sind die fünf reichsten Menschen Deutschlands Der Tagesspiegel.
  16. ^ Board Friends of the Museum für Moderne Kunst.
  17. ^ Supervisory Board Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
  18. ^ Board of Trustees BMW Foundation.
  19. ^ Board of Trustees Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation.
  20. ^ Board of Trustees Johanna Quandt Foundation.
  21. ^ Board of Trustees Stiftung Charité.
  22. ^ Alexandra Hudson (15 October 2013), BMW family donation to Merkel's party stokes lobbying row Reuters’'.
  23. Wall Street Journal
    .
  24. ^ Cynthia Kroet and Joshua Posaner (1 August 2017), Auto giants help make Angela Merkel’s conservatives Germany’s top fundraisers Reuters.
  25. YouTube
  26. ^ a b Emma Bode and Brigitte Fehlau (29 November 2008). "The Silence of the Quandts: The history of a wealthy German family. A documentary film by Eric Friedler and Barbara Siebert". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  27. ^ a b c Paterson, Tony (29 September 2011). "BMW dynasty breaks silence on its Nazi past". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  28. ^ Bonstein, Julia (10 December 2007), "Breaking the Silence: BMW's Quandt Family to Investigate Wealth Amassed in Third Reich", Der Spiegel

External links