Heinz Hermann Thiele turned the Munich-based medium-sized company Knorr-Bremse into a world market leader.
After his death, the family now has to settle his successor - and a billions in the bill.
Munich - The heirs of the late Munich entrepreneur Heinz Hermann Thiele are facing a billions in inheritance tax claims. This is what
Manager-Magazin
reports
in its current issue. Thereafter, Thiele's daughter Julia Thiele-Schürhoff (50) and his widow Nadia (45) face a tax office claim of over five billion euros. This would be the highest inheritance tax that has so far been due in Germany, writes the magazine.
Thiele recently held 59 percent of the traditional Munich-based Knorr-Bremse company.
Measured against the current price level, this participation in the world market leader for truck and rail brake systems alone corresponds to a market value of almost ten billion euros.
He also owned 50.1 percent of the shares in the locomotive and rail technology specialist Vossloh.
There are also numerous properties in Munich, South America, Sardinia and South Africa, where Thiele regularly spent the Christmas holidays.
Assertive entrepreneurs and patriarchs became known to a broader public last year when he rose to become the largest shareholder in the crisis-ridden Lufthansa during the Corona crisis.
The Bloomberg news agency estimated his fortune at around $ 20 billion.
Knorr-Bremse: Thiele had planned a foundation solution
According to
Manager-Magazin
, Thiele actually planned to transfer his property to a family foundation.
However, the foundation did not exist at the time of his death.
This means that possible tax advantages could also not be used.
Therefore, the heirs would now have to adjust to the record high tax claim.
However, the family could pay the corresponding amount without having to part with shares in Knorr-Bremse or Vossloh, it said.
Thiele died on February 23 at the age of 79.
Born in Mainz, after completing his law degree in 1969, he started working as a clerk in the Knorr-Bremse patent department.
In 1979 he became head of sales, in 1985 he took over his employer with the help of a loan from Deutsche Bank.
In October 2018 he led the group to the stock exchange.
Knorr-Bremse: Thiele leaves a big gap
At Knorr-Bremse, the entrepreneur leaves a big void.
There is a huge crunch within the board of directors, writes
Manager-Magazin
.
The two newly appointed board members Frank Markus Weber (finance) and CEO Michael Mrosik did not have the necessary house power and would have to assert themselves against the two self-confident divisional board members Peter Laier (commercial vehicles) and Jürgen Wilder (railways).
