German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne dies at age 89

German investor ‌Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the ​controlling shareholder of Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel, has died aged 89, the ‌company said on Monday. Kuehne, the grandson of company co-founder August Kuehne, also held major stakes in German groups Lufthansa, Hapag-Lloyd and chemicals trade ‌group Brenntag as well as bus and train services operator ‌Flix.

A dominant figure in global shipping and logistics, he transformed Kuehne + Nagel from a family freight forwarder into one of the world's largest logistics ⁠groups ​and amassed ⁠a fortune that made him one of Germany's richest investors. His holdings are worth ⁠more than $44.2 billion, according to Forbes. He became CEO of Kuehne and ​Nagel in 1975 and was the chairman of its board ⁠of directors between 1992 and 2011.

With strong family ties to northern ⁠Germany, ​Kuehne formed a group of investors that agreed to buy Hapag-Lloyd's Hamburg-based container shipping business from TUI in 2008 ⁠to prevent it from getting folded into a global rival. A commanding presence ⁠among ⁠German family investors, he later acquired 20% of the voting rights in German flagship carrier Lufthansa Group.