Klaus-Michael Kühne has died: The entrepreneur who gave Mallorca a second home

Klaus-Michael Kühne has died: The entrepreneur who gave Mallorca a second home

From a late start to an island project – hotels, concerts and the goal: fewer guests, more tranquillity

It is the same streets around Es Capdellà, filled in the mornings with the chatter of the market and the rustle of watering cans, that also surround Castell Son Claret. Here, among olive trees and stone walls, Klaus-Michael Kühne left his most visible marks on Mallorca over the past decades. The Hamburg entrepreneur has died at the age of 89. He only discovered the island late in life, remained closely connected to it and turned a private project into part of the island's culture.

Their shared path first led to Mallorca in 1997, when Kühne and his wife Christine decided to buy a house — that was the beginning. The retreat became a restoration project: the Son Claret estate near Es Capdellà, which reopened in 2013 as the five-star hotel Castell Son Claret. The building and the gardens were tackled with great attention to detail; around 38 million euros went into the redesign. For Kühne, hospitality was not just a business but a cause: he wanted to strengthen a side of the island that sought tranquillity, quality and culture instead of mass and low-cost tourism, a topic explored in After Eleven Years at the Top: What Mallorca's Tourism Radar Really Needs to See.

The hotel became more than a place to stay. Under his stewardship, Son Claret became a stage for classical concerts, a meeting place for executives and thinkers, and the venue for the economic forum “Neu Denken”, which began at the Castell in 2021 and continued in the following years in Palma. Visitors rarely encountered empty glamour here; instead they found a combination of careful restoration, musical programming and refined cuisine. The hotel restaurant Sa Clastra received a Michelin star in 2023 — a small but visible sign of how firmly the house has anchored itself in Mallorca's gastronomic scene.

Kühne was a man of many facets: he had his roots in logistics, took early responsibility in the family business and later engaged in holdings such as Hapag-Lloyd and airlines. At the same time, he showed an obvious affection for classical music on the island; local cultural life has attracted varied figures, as in Between Paintbrush and Microphone: Peter Klein Builds His Second Life in Mallorca. His foundation worked internationally with festivals and opera houses; for the planned Caja de Música in Palma he pledged two million euros in 2020 — a promise he later withdrew. Nevertheless, his commitment to culture remained tangible: concerts at the Castell, collaborations, and the idea that a hotel can also be a cultural place.

In everyday life, Kühne sometimes appeared surprisingly down-to-earth. He was seen several times on scheduled flights between Zurich and Palma; the anecdote that he once even carried letters himself to save on postage was often told. This mix of Hanseatic pragmatism and generous patronage shaped his work: efficiency mattered to him, and profit was not always the sole objective.

Politically and socially, Kühne became a familiar figure on Mallorca. His engagement brought guests and discussions, but also an example of how private initiatives can support public cultural spaces. He leaves no descendants on the island; large parts of his fortune are placed in the non-profit Kühne Foundation, and he arranged succession for his business network early on. About ten days ago he returned from Mallorca to his home in Schindellegi in Switzerland, where he died.

What remains is more than a restored manor and a hotel with Michelin-awarded cuisine. There is the memory of someone who embraced Mallorca as a place to live and tried to promote his vision for the island: fewer visitors, higher spending, peace and culture. In the gardens of Son Claret, when the crickets chirp in the evening air and the lights of the Castell come on behind the pine crowns, one can still hear a bit of the idea Kühne planted here.

Those thinking of a farewell can find a small, practical consolation on Mallorca: in recent years the island has learned to link culture, hospitality and landscape more closely. That is no guarantee, but a direction — and for many here a part of Klaus-Michael Kühne's legacy.