Herbert Quandt

Herbert Werner Quandt (22 June 1910 – 2 June 1982) was a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party^[1] credited with having saved BMW when it was at the point of bankruptcy.^[2] Quandt also oversaw the use of his family's factories during World War II.

Herbert Quandt was born in Pritzwalk, the second son of Günther Quandt and Antonie "Toni" Quandt (born Ewald). Antonie died of the Spanish flu in 1918.^[3] Quandt was affected by a retinal disease that left scars, and he was nearly blind from the age of nine. Consequently, he had to be educated at home.^[4]

He gained greater responsibility for companies which his father had acquired and after 1945, he rebuilt them.^[4] 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 Quandt's father 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. The conglomerate was then divided between his two surviving sons: Herbert and Harald Quandt, who was Herbert's half brother.^[5] 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 reversing the company's fortunes by financing the BMW 700 which transformed the company's profitability.^[4]

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. This model in its new segment firmly established the long-term success of BMW.

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.

He married his first wife, Ursel Münstermann, in 1933 but they divorced in 1940. This marriage had produced a daughter, Silvia Quandt (born 1937),^[3] 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 (born 1951) (now Sonja Quandt-Wolf), Sabina (born 1953) and Sven (born 1956).^[3] 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. She did not remarry after Herbert's death, and lived quietly in Bad Homburg until her own death in 2015. The current supervisory board members at BMW include Johanna's two children: Stefan Quandt, holder of 23.7% of the shares in BMW, and Susanne Klatten, a 19.2% shareholder.^[6] 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 on 2 June 1982 in Kiel.

There is now a foundation in the Herbert Quandt name through BMW.^[7]

• de Jong, David (2022). Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties (Hardback). Boston: Mariner Books. ISBN 9781328497888.
• Jungbluth, Rüdiger (2002). Die Quandts: Ihr leiser Aufstieg zur mächtigsten Wirtschaftsdynastie Deutschlands (Hardback) (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Campus Sachbuch. ISBN 9783593369402.

• Biography
• BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt