German Billionaire Makes Massive Investment Into New Hamburg Opera House
By Francisco SalazarGerman Billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne has pledged €300 million euros for the construction of a new opera house.
According to reports, there is a plot of land on Baakenhöft in Hafencity that the city has made available for the construction of the new house and the project is already “well advanced” and only dependent on bureaucratic requirements.
In a statement, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture Carsten Brosda said, “We speak regularly with Mr. Kühne and his foundation and see whether we can reach an agreement in which he donates an opera to the city. That would be a great patronage gesture that we would also be happy to accept. Then we would also provide a piece of land and realize the project together.”
According to the cultural authority, it is not yet clear whether 300 million euros is enough, and as a result, studies are being made in case costs increase.
The proposal for the new opera house was revealed as the old house is in need of a renovation and therefore it was though that it would be better to construct a new house. The government of Hamburg did clarify that there would only be one opera house and the older one would be used for other purposes.
Kühne’s net worth is estimated at over $36.2 billion USD. He is the honorary chairman and majority owner of international transport company Kühne + Nagel. He is also a shareholder in Lufthansa and the main owner of Hapag-Lloyd. He also founded The Kühne Foundation and the Kühne Logistics University.
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