Friday 23 April 2021
Unregulated inheritance becomes expensive
Thiele’s family is threatened with hefty tax claims
Even the super-rich have not always put their finances in order, as the Thiele family of industrialists proves: the heirs of the Knorr-Bremse founder can expect an inheritance tax claim that has probably never been so high in Germany.
Anyone who is rich and does not manage their estate during their lifetime risks having their descendants asked to pay for it. This is what apparently happens to the family of Knorr-Bremse founder Thiele: Because he had not finally settled his inheritance at the age of 79, the heirs of Heinz Hermann Thiele are now facing billions worth billions. According to “Manager Magazin”, daughter Julia Thiele-Schürhoff and his wife Nadia Thiele must pay inheritance tax of an estimated five billion euros – according to the magazine, the highest sum that heirs have ever had to shell out in Germany.
Thiele, who died at the end of February, left behind an estimated fortune of more than 20 billion euros. At the time of his death, he was the main owner of the Munich rail and truck supplier Knorr-Bremse with 59 percent. The market value of this traditional company alone amounts to ten billion euros.
In addition, Thiele held a good ten percent in Deutsche Lufthansa, half of the shares in the rail technology company Vossloh and various properties and lands around the world. The plan to place his property in a family foundation to reduce taxes, the patriarch apparently no longer completed during his lifetime, as the magazine now reports, citing family members.
At the time of his death, the current foundation did not exist, it is said. This means that no tax advantages could affect his assets. However, the demands of the family should not cause any problems. The money is available, company shares do not have to be sold.
How the family will position itself in the foundation in the future is still unclear. Meanwhile, according to Manager Magazin, things are crunching on the Knorr-Bremse Executive Board. Thiele’s main heir is his 50-year-old daughter Julia. Son Henrik was paid off in 2017.
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