K+N honorary chairman Klaus-Michael Kühne dies at 89

Klaus-Michael Kuhne, honorary chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuehne+Nagel International AG and majority owner of the logistics group, passed away in the early hours of Monday, August 24, 2026, at his home in Schindellegi, Switzerland. He was 89.

Confirming the news, Kuehne+Nagel said the Board of Directors, Management Board and employees "mourn the loss" of Kuhne, whose seven-decade association with the company shaped the modern freight forwarding and logistics industry.

Dr. Joerg Wolle, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, said: "With the passing of Klaus-Michael, we have lost a visionary, a great entrepreneur and an extraordinary personality." He added that the Board and the company would "honour Klaus-Michael Kühne's memory with the utmost respect and gratitude," extending condolences to Kühne's widow, Christine Kühne.

Stefan Paul, CEO of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, said the news had "deeply saddened" the organisation, adding that "Klaus-Michael Kühne embodied logistics and global trade like no other." On behalf of the Management Board and employees, Paul extended the company's "deepest sympathies" to the family.

Kuhne joined the family business in the early 1960s following a commercial apprenticeship and years of training. He became a personally liable partner in 1963 and Chairman of the Executive Board three years later. From 1975 he served as Chief Executive Officer, and later as Chairman of the Board of Directors, at the company's international headquarters in Switzerland, a role he held from 1992 to 2011 before being named Honorary Chairman.

Kuhne was the majority shareholder of the Kuehne+Nagel Group through Kuhne Holding AG, which he founded in 1993. The holding company also owns a stake of more than 30% in container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG and a 20% stake in Lufthansa AG, in addition to property and luxury hotel interests.

Born in Hamburg in 1937, Kühne was the grandson of August Kuhne, who co-founded the freight forwarding firm with Friedrich Nagel in Bremen in 1890. Kühne trained as a bank and foreign trade clerk before taking over the family business, becoming CEO at just 29.

His career included a significant setback: after an unsuccessful attempt to build his own shipping line, Kuhne was forced to give up half of Kuehne+Nagel in 1981. He bought back the shares in 1992 and took the company public in 1994. At the time of his death, he held a controlling 53.3% stake in Kuehne+Nagel, which today operates more than 1,300 offices worldwide with a workforce of 88,000.

Beyond Kuehne+Nagel, Kuhne expanded his holdings in recent years to include stakes in chemical logistics firm Brenntag and bus and rail operator Flix. He had been the largest single shareholder of Lufthansa since 2022, increasing his stake to just over 20% as recently as May 2026, and was also the controlling shareholder of Hapag-Lloyd.

His countercyclical investment strategy, buying into global trade during downturns, reportedly doubled his fortune within five years, with Bloomberg estimating he collected at least €8.56 billion in dividends, largely from Hapag-Lloyd. Forbes placed his holdings at more than $44.2 billion at the time of his death, making him Germany's richest person for years running.

Much of that wealth had already been directed toward philanthropy: the childless entrepreneur placed the bulk of his fortune into a foundation years ago, whose board includes his wife Christine, longtime confidant Karl Gernandt, and Kühne Holding board member Jorg Wolle.

Kuhne's civic and philanthropic footprint was particularly deep in his home city of Hamburg, where he is estimated to have invested around €1 billion by 2018. Through the Kuhne Foundation, established in 1976, he supported initiatives in logistics, climate, medicine and culture, and was also a major benefactor of football club Hamburger SV.

Kuhne leaves behind his wife, Christine. His passing marks the end of an era for one of the defining figures of postwar European logistics and global supply-chain expansion. He is a leader who, over more than six decades, turned a Hamburg-based family forwarding firm into one of the world's largest logistics groups.