Aged 89: HSV patron Kühne dies | OneFootball

HSV mourns the loss of its most important supporter of recent decades: Klaus-Michael Kühne has died at the age of 89.

His logistics group Kühne+Nagel confirmed this on Monday. According to the company, the businessman passed away during the night leading into Monday at his home in Schindellegi, Switzerland.

With Kühne’s death, HSV loses a figure who played a key role in supporting and accompanying the club over many years. The Hamburg native was a passionate fan of the Rothosen and repeatedly invested millions in the club. Whether by financing transfers, through stakes in HSV Fußball AG, or as an important advisor to the club’s leadership, Kühne’s influence on HSV’s development was enormous for years.

Most recently, in 2025, his holding company ensured once again that the naming rights to the Volksparkstadion were secured. This preserved the name of HSV’s historic home ground. Despite occasional differences of opinion with officials and committees, Kühne always saw himself as a supporter of his beloved club.

HSV fan Kühne was committed far beyond football

Beyond football, Kühne was also one of Germany’s most influential entrepreneurs. The logistics company Kühne+Nagel had been co-founded by his grandfather in 1890. Kühne joined the family business at an early age, became CEO at just 29, and turned it into a world-leading corporation. Through his holding company, he most recently held major stakes in Kühne+Nagel, Hapag-Lloyd, and Lufthansa, among others.

Alongside his business activities, Kühne supported numerous projects in science, medicine, and culture. One of the causes closest to his heart in recent years was the construction of a new opera house in Hamburg.

As Kühne and his wife Christine had no children, succession arrangements were made early on. A large part of his fortune is already held in the charitable Kühne Foundation.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.