The son of a German brewing dynasty is suing his sisters for a share of the family business after claiming their mother cheated him into giving up her inheritance the morning after his drunken 18th birthday party.
Carl-Clemens Veltins, whose family built a small brewery in the western village of Grevenstein to become one of Germany’s most successful brewers, was horrified to learn when his mother Rosemarie died in 1994 , that he had been removed from his will.
Instead, the entire inheritance went to his sisters Susanne and Frauke, the former of whom continues to run the Veltins family empire and was listed as a billionaire by Forbes.
But while going through the family estate records eight years ago, he discovered to his chagrin that he had mistakenly given up his rights to a third of the family business.
This, he claims, happened the morning after his 18th birthday, when his mother took him to a notary and told him to sign a piece of paper which she said was simply “to prevent the brewery would not be sold if the heirs claimed their shares.” ‘.
Now Carl-Clemens’ lawyers say his mother’s “immoral and void” actions mean the Veltins sisters owe their client a third of the family’s money.
If their demands are ultimately upheld, the “black sheep” of the Veltins family could then build a nine-figure fortune.
Carl-Clemens Veltins claims his mother tricked him into giving up his inheritance the day after his drunken 18th birthday party
Carl Clemens Veltins pictured in 2005 after being sentenced to a two-year prison term on drug and firearms charges
Rosemarie Veltins died in 1994 and removed her son from her will, handing the family business over to her sisters.
Susanne Veltins continues to run the brewery and is listed as a billionaire by Forbes
For many years, Carl-Clemens thought he was simply being punished for his misdeeds.
He has long been referred to as the “black sheep” of the Veltins family by the German media due to a series of bad behaviors.
This included the burglary of his own mother’s villa in 1984 and a series of convictions for possession and trafficking of cocaine, as well as illegal possession of a Kalashnikov automatic rifle that he bought from Soviet soldiers after opening a nightclub in the city of Leipzig after the attack. collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Additionally, Carl-Clemens always knew that Rosemarie wanted her older sister Susanne to take over the Veltins business empire.
But he claims that while going through his family’s estate records eight years ago, he made the shocking discovery that his mother had conspired to cut him out of the Veltins’ fortune.
“I was taken for a ride back then,” Carl-Clemens told German media To focusclaiming that he had unwittingly given up his inheritance for the relatively paltry sum of five million German marks.
He claims his mother dragged him out of bed the day after his 18th birthday party and took him, still half-drunk, to a notary, where a “piece of A5 paper” was shoved under his nose .
“She said, “Get up Clemens, we have to go to the notary and sign something. It’s a business question,” he said.
“Essentially it was about giving up my rights to the family business and the shares owed to me so that the brewery would not have to be sold to pay other family members in the event of my death. mother.
“What son believes his mother will betray him?
The jaded heir went on to claim that he had a poor relationship with his mother, whom he described as strict and authoritarian, which caused him to rebel.
“I have always been an adventurous man, I liked taking risks. If I had received more attention at the age of ten, my path might have been different,” he told German media. Picture.
“My CV is certainly not one that tells the story of a saint. Looking back, I’m really not proud of a lot of things that happened. But that doesn’t mean my family had the right to ignore me the way they did.
“In fact, I would have been entitled to a third of the company’s shares. I didn’t get anything out of it.
Veltins’ turnover for 2023 alone was around €441 million
Veltins has grown from a small and simple farm brewery to one of the largest private breweries in Europe.
In a passage from Rosemarie’s will, cited by German media Handelsblatt newspaperthe former CEO of Veltins said the five million marks paid to his son before his death were “sufficient”.
“My son Carl-Clemens Veltins has already received sufficient donations from me during his lifetime, so that, taking all the circumstances into account, further donations to him by way of inheritance or bequest are not justified . He and his descendants are excluded from legal succession,” the will states.
But Carl-Clemens believes he should be entitled to the mandatory shares he would have received if his mother had not removed him from the will.
Veltins’ turnover for 2023 alone amounted to approximately 441 million euros.
The disgruntled potential heir says he tried to resolve the dispute peacefully in 2016, but his family was not receptive.
Today, his lawyers are filing suit against the Veltins sisters to seek reimbursement of the compensation that Carl-Clemens believes he is rightly owed.
A statement provided to Handelsblatt by law firm Grant Thornton said: “There is no doubt that Mr. Veltins was abused… All children are entitled to a ‘minimum share of the inheritance.’
“The systematic and complete exclusion of Mr Veltins was therefore immoral… the mother took advantage of the complete innocence and confidence of her son, inexperienced in business, to her detriment.”
MailOnline has contacted representatives of Veltins Brewery for comment.