Susanne Klatten: Germany’s Richest Woman
Susanne Klatten, born in April of 1962, is a German businesswoman with a net worth of $19 billion dollars. She inherited half of her father’s billion-dollar business in pharmaceuticals and chemicals, as well as a 12.5% stock in BMW. Klatten owns a 21 percent stake in BMW, 27 percent of SGL Carbon, and 23 percent of Nordex, a wind turbine developer. She also owns 2.8 million shares of software designer Gemalto and 40 percent of passport and credit card manufacturer Entrust Datacard. Klatten is known for using false names to protect her identity, which she began doing after a kidnapping in the late 70s. She remains one of the largest donors to the Christian Democratic Union, a centre-right political party in Germany.
Klatten and her husband, Jan Klatten, reside in Munich and keep a fairly quiet life. Together they have children and are known for being philanthropic. Klatten purchased the Winx office tower in Frankfurt which is estimated to cost 350 million euros to construct.