Curt Engelhorn, German billionaire businessman, Died at 90

  Business

Curt Rudolf Glover Engelhorn was born on May 25, 1926, and died on October 13, 2016.

He was a German billionaire heir and businessman, the great-grandson of Friedrich Engelhorn, the founder of the chemical company BASF.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

For over three and a half decades, Engelhorn led the pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Mannheim and DePuy Inc.

During 1997, Engelhorn sold the two firms (in which together he had a 40% stake) to Hoffmann-La Roche for more than $10 billion.

During 2008, it was announced that Engelhorn would be donating Euro 400,000 annually over the period of 10 years to support American studies at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies.

Up until 2012, he owned Five Star Island, Bermuda a major share holding in a Bermuda registered German pharmaceutical multinational Corange Ltd.

From late 2013, there have been ongoing investigations by the German authorities concerning suspected tax frauds between Engelhorn and his daughters, avoiding capital transfer taxes of up to Euro 440 million (US$475 million).

Since January 2016, the family’s lawyers conceded capital transfer tax evasions in the amount of Euro 135 million (US $145 million) to the court.

Curt was married with five children and lives in Gstaad, Switzerland, with other homes in Costa Brava, Spain and on the Cote D’Azur, France.

Curt Engelhorn passed away at 90 years old.