Herbert Quandt
Encyclopedia
Herbert Werner Quandt was a German
industrialist who is regarded as having saved BMW
when it was at the point of bankruptcy and made huge profit in doing so.
, the second son of Günther Quandt
(1881–1954) and Antonie ‘Toni’ Quandt (née Ewald). Antonie died of the Spanish flu
in 1918.
The Quandts are descendents of a Dutch rope-making family who had settled in Wittstock
and Pritzwalk, between Berlin
and Schwerin
, in the 18th century. Günther's father, Emil Quandt, married the daughter of a rich textile manufacturer and took charge of the company in 1883. During World War I
, with Günther in charge, the Quandts supplied the German army with uniforms, building up a larger fortune that Günther would use after the war to acquire Accumulatorenfabrik AG (AFA), a battery manufacturer in Hagen
; a potash mine; and metal fabricators including IWKA in 1928).
Herbert was afflicted with a retinal disease that left scars, and he was nearly blind from the age of nine. Consequently he had to be educated at home. After extensive training at the family's companies at home and abroad, Herbert Quandt became a member of the executive board of AFA, later VARTA
AG, in 1940. Forced labour was used at many of the Quandt factories during the World War II
and conditions were brutal. Herbert was the director of Pertrix GmbH, a Berlin-based subsidiary of AFA. The company used female slave laborers, including Polish women who had been transferred from Auschwitz. Herbert Quandt was not tried after the war, though his father was interned until 1948 while he was investigated.
A programme by the German public broadcaster, ARD
, in October 2007 described in detail the role of the Quandt family businesses during the Second World War. As a result 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 Hitler's
dictatorship.
When Günther died in 1954, the Quandt group was a conglomerate of about 200 businesses including the battery manufacturer, several metal fabrication companies, textile companies and chemical companies (including Altana
AG). It also owned about 10% of car company Daimler-Benz
and about 30% of BMW. After Günther's death, the conglomerate was divided between his two sons: Herbert and Harald Quandt
who was Herbert's half brother.
BMW was an ailing company and in 1959 its management suggested selling the whole concern to Daimler-Benz. Herbert Quandt was close to agreeing to such a deal, but changed his mind at the last minute because of opposition from the workforce and trade unions. Instead he increased his share in BMW to 50% against the advice of his bankers, risking much of his wealth. He was instrumental in turning the company around.
BMW was already planning its BMW 1500 model when Quandt took control. It was launched in 1962 and established a new segment in the car market: the quality production saloon. It occupied a position between the mass production car and the craftsman-built output of the luxury producers. BMW's sophisticated technical skills put it in a strong position to fill this niche. It was this model that put BMW on the path to success.
When Harald died in 1967 in an air crash, Herbert received more shares in BMW, VARTA and IWKA. In 1974 Herbert and Harald's widow, Inge, sold their stake in Daimler-Benz to the Government of Kuwait
.
(b 1937), who stayed with her mother after the divorce. Silvia is now an artist who lives in Munich. Ten years later, in 1950, he married his second wife, the jeweller Lieselotte Blobelt, but they divorced in 1959. This second marriage produced Sonja (b 1951) (now Sonja Quandt-Wolf), Sabina (b 1953) and Sven (b 1956). Sven became the manager of the BMW
rally team.
Herbert married his third wife Johanna Bruhn
in 1960, just a year after his second divorce. She had been a secretary in his office in the 1950s and eventually became his personal assistant. After Herbert's death she did not remarry and now lives quietly in Bad Homburg
, though she still owns 16.7% of BMW. The current board members at BMW
include Johanna's two children: Stefan Quandt
, holder of 17.4% of the shares in BMW and Susanne Klatten
, a 12.5% shareholder. They joined the board in May 1997.
Herbert ensured that the shares in his companies were not thinly spread and so to avoid family disputes the children of the previous marriages received large shares in other Quandt family companies. Silvia Quandt, the oldest child, received extensive investments and property in the 1970s. Later the three children from the second marriage were given the majority of the shares of VARTA Battery AG but these have since been sold. Susanne also received his shares in Altana AG, while Stefan also received shares in a holding company called Delton
with interests in medical products and power supplies.
Herbert Quandt died 2 June 1982 in Kiel
.
Today the Quandts are multi-billionaires, although it is difficult to put an exact figure on their wealth. They do not give interviews and are very publicity shy.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
industrialist who is regarded as having saved BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
when it was at the point of bankruptcy and made huge profit in doing so.
Early life
Herbert Quandt was born in PritzwalkPritzwalk
Pritzwalk is a town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 20 km west of Wittstock, and 33 km northeast of Wittenberge....
, the second son of Günther Quandt
Günther Quandt
Günther Quandt was a German industrialist and Nazi who founded an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana .Eight of the hundred currently richest Germans are among his descendants.- Early life :...
(1881–1954) and Antonie ‘Toni’ Quandt (née Ewald). Antonie died of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
in 1918.
The Quandts are descendents of a Dutch rope-making family who had settled in Wittstock
Wittstock
Wittstock is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Dosse, 20 km east of Pritzwalk, and 95 km northwest of Berlin. It was the location of the 1636 Battle of Wittstock between Sweden and an alliance of the Holy Roman...
and Pritzwalk, between Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
, in the 18th century. Günther's father, Emil Quandt, married the daughter of a rich textile manufacturer and took charge of the company in 1883. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with Günther in charge, the Quandts supplied the German army with uniforms, building up a larger fortune that Günther would use after the war to acquire Accumulatorenfabrik AG (AFA), a battery manufacturer in Hagen
Hagen
Hagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...
; a potash mine; and metal fabricators including IWKA in 1928).
Herbert was afflicted with a retinal disease that left scars, and he was nearly blind from the age of nine. Consequently he had to be educated at home. After extensive training at the family's companies at home and abroad, Herbert Quandt became a member of the executive board of AFA, later VARTA
VARTA
VARTA AG was a company based in Germany manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial and consumer markets. A sales slogan was "you're smarter to fit Varta!" in the mid 1990s...
AG, in 1940. Forced labour was used at many of the Quandt factories during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and conditions were brutal. Herbert was the director of Pertrix GmbH, a Berlin-based subsidiary of AFA. The company used female slave laborers, including Polish women who had been transferred from Auschwitz. Herbert Quandt was not tried after the war, though his father was interned until 1948 while he was investigated.
A programme by the German public broadcaster, ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
, in October 2007 described in detail the role of the Quandt family businesses during the Second World War. As a result 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 Hitler's
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
dictatorship.
Post-war business activities
He gained greater responsibility for companies which his father had acquired and after 1945, he rebuilt them. He developed a business philosophy of decentralised organisation which gave executives wide powers for decision-making and allowed employees to participate in their company's success.When Günther died in 1954, the Quandt group was a conglomerate of about 200 businesses including the battery manufacturer, several metal fabrication companies, textile companies and chemical companies (including Altana
Altana
The Altana AG is a German chemical company based in Wesel. Altana develops and produces products in the specialty chemicals business. The ALTANA Group, with headquarters in Wesel/Germany, sells 85% of its products overseas...
AG). It also owned about 10% of car company Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
and about 30% of BMW. After Günther's death, the conglomerate was divided between his two sons: Herbert and Harald Quandt
Harald Quandt
Harald Quandt was a German industrialist, stepson of Joseph Goebbels. After World War II, Harald and his half-brother Herbert Quandt ran the industrial empire that was left to them by their father.-Early life:...
who was Herbert's half brother.
BMW was an ailing company and in 1959 its management suggested selling the whole concern to Daimler-Benz. Herbert Quandt was close to agreeing to such a deal, but changed his mind at the last minute because of opposition from the workforce and trade unions. Instead he increased his share in BMW to 50% against the advice of his bankers, risking much of his wealth. He was instrumental in turning the company around.
BMW was already planning its BMW 1500 model when Quandt took control. It was launched in 1962 and established a new segment in the car market: the quality production saloon. It occupied a position between the mass production car and the craftsman-built output of the luxury producers. BMW's sophisticated technical skills put it in a strong position to fill this niche. It was this model that put BMW on the path to success.
When Harald died in 1967 in an air crash, Herbert received more shares in BMW, VARTA and IWKA. In 1974 Herbert and Harald's widow, Inge, sold their stake in Daimler-Benz to the Government of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
Personal life
He married his first wife, Ursel Münstermann, in 1933 but they divorced in 1940. This marriage had produced a daughter, Silvia QuandtSilvia Quandt
-Early life:She was born in 1937 in Berlin, the only child of the marriage between German industrialist Herbert Quandt and his first wife Ursel Munstermann. Her parents divorced in 1940 and Silvia stayed with her mother.-Artistic career:...
(b 1937), who stayed with her mother after the divorce. Silvia is now an artist who lives in Munich. Ten years later, in 1950, he married his second wife, the jeweller Lieselotte Blobelt, but they divorced in 1959. This second marriage produced Sonja (b 1951) (now Sonja Quandt-Wolf), Sabina (b 1953) and Sven (b 1956). Sven became the manager of the BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
rally team.
Herbert married his third wife Johanna Bruhn
Johanna Quandt
Johanna Quandt is the German widow of industrialist Herbert Quandt, who resurrected BMW from bankruptcy. As a result, she is the 14th richest person in Germany....
in 1960, just a year after his second divorce. She had been a secretary in his office in the 1950s and eventually became his personal assistant. After Herbert's death she did not remarry and now lives quietly in Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus, bordering among others Frankfurt am Main and Oberursel...
, though she still owns 16.7% of BMW. The current board members at BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
include Johanna's two children: Stefan Quandt
Stefan Quandt
Stefan Quandt is a German engineer and industrialist. He is ranked as the 72nd richest person in the world in the Forbes list of billionaires, who put his personal wealth at $10.7 billion...
, holder of 17.4% of the shares in BMW and Susanne Klatten
Susanne Klatten
Susanne Klatten is the daughter of Herbert and Johanna Quandt. As of 2011, she is worth $14.6 billion, and is the richest woman in Germany and the 44th richest person in the world....
, a 12.5% shareholder. They joined the board in May 1997.
Herbert ensured that the shares in his companies were not thinly spread and so to avoid family disputes the children of the previous marriages received large shares in other Quandt family companies. Silvia Quandt, the oldest child, received extensive investments and property in the 1970s. Later the three children from the second marriage were given the majority of the shares of VARTA Battery AG but these have since been sold. Susanne also received his shares in Altana AG, while Stefan also received shares in a holding company called Delton
Delton AG
DELTON AG is a strategic management holding company that manages value creating business activities in the sectors of pharmaceuticals, household products and logistics....
with interests in medical products and power supplies.
Herbert Quandt died 2 June 1982 in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
.
Today the Quandts are multi-billionaires, although it is difficult to put an exact figure on their wealth. They do not give interviews and are very publicity shy.
Further reading
- Rüdiger Jungbluth: Die Quandts: Ihr leiser Aufstieg zur mächtigsten Wirtschaftsdynastie Deutschlands. Campus 2002 (ISBN 3-593-36940-0)