From the Handelsblatt archive: Kai Viehof has turned down most of his inheritance, and the grandson of the Allkauf founder also wants to give away most of the rest. About a man whose job is to get rid of money in a meaningful way.
Mönchengladbach. If there is a picture-perfect millionaire, Kai Viehof hardly fulfills any of the clichés. The narrow shoulders are also noticeable under the black T-shirt and black shirt, the beard is slightly messy, and there is a ring in both ears. For example, in the spring he appeared on the ARD talk show “Hart aber fair” on the subject of heirs. He appeared much more reserved than one of his opponents, an equally wealthy electrical engineering entrepreneur from Neuss with a large body and a pocket square.
Viehof's grandfather built the “Allkauf” retail chain in the 1960s, which he sold to Metro AG in 1998 for around one billion marks. Money that the family received.
But Kai Viehof refused his share when it was his turn. The Mönchengladbacher, 44, is a new face in the camp of millionaires who don't want to increase their money, but rather distribute it.
The camp also includes Sebastian Klein, author of the book “Toxically Rich,” who became rich as co-founder of the app Blinkist. Or Marlene Engelhorn, who comes from the founding family of the chemical company BASF.
According to the German Institute for Economic Research, more than half of private assets are not earned, but come from inheritance or donations. According to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report 2025, only the USA and China have more super-rich people than Germany, i.e. people with assets of more than $100 million. This accounts for 27 percent of financial assets in Germany.
Kai Viehof is now appearing in public
Like Marlene Engelhorn, Viehof did nothing for his wealth - and didn't even want it. His father gave him a mid-double-digit million sum when he was young. However, the son turned down the actual inheritance, an amount of up to three-digit millions.
For me this is not a jealousy debate. Kai Viehof
Despite his reserved appearance, Kai Viehof has decided to speak publicly about the topic of money. He says he does not want to accept that questions about distributive justice are regularly dismissed with the term “envy debate”. “For me, this is not a debate about envy,” he says. “For me, this is a central debate that those who have won in the system also have to face.”
By this he also means himself and has decided to take an unusual step: he wants to donate seven-eighths of the double-digit million amount he had already received - or invest in companies that promise a social rather than a financial return.
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Viehof once trained as a tax consultant, but rarely works in this profession anymore. Now he is mainly concerned with spending money wisely. Until it's gone. At least almost.
Why did he decide to give away so much money? Who gets it? And what does he want to achieve with it?
I wanted to work in development aid
Viehof was 17 when the family sold the company. He already decided back then that he would donate his inheritance later, but didn't say anything to his family at first. The internal conflict was too great back then, he remembers today. When he was young, he once planned to work in development aid. For him, great wealth and great poverty were always two sides of the same coin.
It was such a feeling, a sense of justice. Kai Viehof
At that time, his father, who is called Eugen like his grandfather, gave him shares and other assets that are now worth a mid-double-digit million amount. At the time, Viehof says, he didn't really know exactly what he was signing and how much it was worth.
Would he refuse today? “I’m conflicted about that,” he admits. “If I have that, I can use it for other purposes.” For example, for good ones. This is not the last time that he admits a contradiction that he does not claim to be able to resolve.
When he was in his mid-30s, about ten years ago, Viehof was supposed to receive another three-digit million sum. The real inheritance. But he turned it down. Why? He is aware that these are all luxury problems, he says, but in many ways, legally but also morally, you are not free to do what you want with the money.
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It's always about passing it on to future generations. He saw a serious concern in his family that their descendants might one day go hungry. This absolutely had to be prevented.
No business relationship with the family
That's how it works in dynasties. The assets are passed on to blood relatives. Viehof realized that he would always have a business relationship with his family. But he didn't want that. Neither to his father nor later to his own children. Viehof also struggled with being entitled to so much money without any benefit.
Kai Viehof's father Eugen: Is authorized to represent the charitable foundation into which Kai Viehof's triple-digit million inheritance flowed. Photo: Rudolf Wichert for Handelsblatt
It was a fine line, as he didn't want to be the dividing wedge in the family. After a conversation with his father, who was not exactly enthusiastic about his son's decision, they came to an agreement. The sum of up to three-digit millions that was intended for Kai Viehof flowed into a charitable foundation. Kai Viehof, however, has nothing to do with this foundation. His father is authorized to represent him.
But Kai Viehof still remained in the mid double-digit million range. In contrast to the actual inheritance, he can dispose of it much more freely. He wants to keep an eighth of it for himself and his family with his two children, a buffer for security. He hasn't calculated how long it will last. If he were to leave at some point, Viehof would look for a job. The fact that he has to accept criticism for this one-eighth thing sometimes irritates him. As if it were better, because more consistent, to say: I'm keeping everything.
Donate for democracy
Viehof tries to concentrate on the other seven eighths. He wants to donate them and invest them in companies that pretend not to primarily think about their own profits.
His focus: democracy. Without democracy, you can forget all other issues, including climate change, as he learned from Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, the founder of the organization Hate Aid. It hadn't been so clear to him before that it really affected all areas.
Josephine Ballon (left) and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg: Use Hate Aid to combat hatred and incitement on the Internet. Photo: Sven Serkis/HateAid/dpa
For five years he wants to support the organization, which campaigns against hate on the Internet, with a six-figure amount each time and wants to ensure that as many people as possible can take part in debates. Just like the media company Correctiv, which is best known for its reporting on the AfD.
Viehof also donates to, among others, Brand New Bundestag, an organization that wants to bring progressive politicians into parliament, and the citizens' movement Finanzwende, which says it is committed to fair, stable and sustainable financial markets that serve people.
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He himself also publicly supports a wealth tax and a reform of the inheritance tax because he is convinced, he says, that the concentration of wealth endangers democracy.
Encounter at a retreat
Viehof does not systematically search for organizations to which he donates. He regularly receives inquiries anyway, otherwise he receives tips from his network, for example the Schöpflin Foundation, which is committed to strengthening democracy. If organizations are on their funding list, that is a good sign for him. “Sometimes it’s just a gut feeling: I think they’re nice, I’ll give them money.”
In 2023, for example, he met Helene Wolf, co-director of “Fair Share of Women Leaders,” at a retreat for philanthropists and social entrepreneurs. The association advocates for more women to lead non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations and social enterprises. This also strengthens democracy because it is about getting half of the population more involved.
Viehof supports the club for five years with a six-figure sum each time. Given the lack of financing structures for feminist work, his donation accounts for up to ten percent of the annual budget, says Wolf.
Also important: The donation is not tied to funding like funding for specific projects. His support was also able to compensate for the loss of some funds. “His contribution is extremely important for long-term, strategic work,” says Wolf. He not only commits himself financially, but also ideally. Together the two moderate the podcast “In Verbundung”. "There are too few men who are committed to gender equality. With his commitment, Kai shows how they can also become active," says Wolf.
Viehof has a list on his smartphone where he documents all donations. The larger sums go to where more impact can be expected, he says. How does he determine this? In the case of Hate Aid, for example, how many victims the organization has helped and how many cases it has brought against social media platforms and won.
And when the right-wing online media Nius attacks the organization, it shows that Hate Aid is being taken seriously. “I feel like I invested it in the right place.”
Donating needs to be learned
But Viehof also noticed that donating has to be learned. He invested in projects that had less impact. He has seen generous commitments lead to appropriate structures that became too expensive when public funding failed to materialize.
He divides larger amounts over several years instead of transferring money once. Firstly, this allows non-profit organizations to plan for the long term, and secondly, they are obliged to use their funds quickly.
Porridge start-up Haferkater: Viehof helped the company switch to so-called responsible ownership. Photo: Oatcat
Viehof has already made the decision several times not to further support a project. Although his resources are large, they are not unlimited. “You might then let an organization fall over the edge.” That made him aware again of the power that money has. "Behind this are the individual fates of people who lose their jobs. This is a difficult decision." But he has to meet them.
If an organization to which he has donated has miscalculated the money and asks him to step in again, he doesn't want to do that. But he says that he breaks this rule again and again.
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Added to this are investments in companies. According to his instructions, they too must be primarily committed to social well-being. This support is then called impact investment. For example, he gave the tampon start-up Vyld 750,000 euros as a loan, also because it is still more difficult for companies run by women to collect money. He helped the porridge start-up Haferkater with a six-figure sum to switch to so-called responsible ownership, for which it had to buy back shares in its GmbH.
His influence has limits
If business goes well, he gets the money back with interest, although the amount is capped. Because he knows: money that is taken out of the company is no longer available for impact. This is risk capital that he has already mentally written off. If something comes back, he wants to put it into new impact investments.
Getting visibly involved is a lose-lose situation for these heirs. Felix Oldenburg, head of the foundation start-up Bcause
Ultimately, Viehof notes again and again, his influence definitely has its limits. Because his money also has limits. Almost three-eighths are now left, says Viehof. Support that has already been promised, even if not yet provided, is included. And what if everything is gone at some point? "Of course I've already thought about it. It will hurt me, but I would like to leave the role of financier at some point." Then he will concentrate more on his activism for distributive justice.
Felix Oldenburg, head of the foundation start-up Bcause, says Kai Viehof has already had quite a journey. "You can tell he's putting a lot of thought into it. There are years of arguments behind it." Heirs who leave the family dynasty with their money have to go against the wishes of family members and financial advisors.
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Oldenburg sees that a new generation of heirs is emerging, the first to consciously perceive climate change and the crisis of democracy. Philanthropy used to be more about animal protection, education and culture, but now it is more about promoting democracy. That's why new organizations like Hate Aid or Correctiv are emerging, says Oldenburg. “Being visibly involved is a lose-lose situation for these heirs,” he says. They are criticized by those who think they don't donate enough and those who think they donate far too much. Viehof is one of those who still talk about it.
Even with the family? What do his relatives say about Viehof spending part of the family fortune in this way, and what about his involvement? His father has three brothers, and they and their children also inherited a lot of money. However, Viehof indicates that he does not have very close contact with the majority of his relatives outside the nuclear family. The relationship with his father has improved again. He even noticed that he was also increasingly asking himself the question of distributive justice. "He's in discussions with me about what needs to be done. I really admire him for thinking progressively."
