German Heiress Johanna Quandt Dies at 89

By Ulrike Dauer And Sarah Sloat 

FRANKFURT--German heiress Johanna Quandt, a major shareholder in car maker BMW AG, has died at age 89, a spokesman for Ms. Quandt's foundation said Wednesday.

Ms. Quandt died Monday in her home in Bad Homburg, he said. She was the widow of industrialist Herbert Quandt, and with her children controlled about 47% of BMW.

Forbes magazine has estimated her fortune at nearly $12 billion, which made her one of the richest people in Germany and the second-richest woman, behind her daughter Susanne Klatten. After Ms. Quandt's death, her stake in BMW will go to her children, the spokesman said.

"Johanna Quandt was a force within BMW for over 50 years and brought enthusiasm and passion to the company," BMW Chief Executive Harald Krüger said in a statement.

Ms. Quandt, nee Bruhn, was born in 1926 in Berlin. After finishing school in 1944 she began training to be a medical assistant, a program she was unable to finish due to the chaos of wartime Germany. When the war ended she worked as a secretary before traveling to Detroit, Michigan, for a year in 1955 to work as household help in a family.

On her return to Germany, Ms. Quandt took a job as secretary for Herbert Quandt, in the Frankfurt headquarters of AFA AG, which later became battery manufacturer Varta AG. She married Mr. Quandt in 1960, the same year he expanded his shareholding in Bayerische Motoren-Werke AG, as BMW was known.

Mr. Quandt helped rebuild BMW, now the world's largest luxury car maker. During World War II, the company primarily made aircraft engines for the German Luftwaffe, and faced a precarious financial position postwar. Mr. Quandt designed a restructuring that also helped fend off a takeover by Daimler-Benz, now Daimler AG.

Mr. Quandt died in 1982, and his widow then took his seat on BMW's supervisory board. She served as deputy chairwoman of the board from 1986 to 1997.

Ms. Quandt, who was active in charity and whose foundation supports financial journalism, received Germany's national order of merit in 2009.

"Possessing a fortune also means taking social responsibility," she said at the awards ceremony.

Her children Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten have served on BMW's supervisory board since 1997.

Write to Ulrike Dauer at [e-mail] and Sarah Sloat at [e-mail]

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