The Villa Algonquin on the Zurich Gold Coast has been world-famous since Tina Turner (80) moved in in 1998. However, she and her husband Erwin Bach (64) only rented the villa. Now the prominent resident of the private residence in Küsnacht has a new landlord directly on the lake: The former owner, photographer Kaspar Fleischmann, has sold the villa, as the Küsnacht land registry confirmed to the “balance sheet”.
Ines Kaindl-Benes (39) bought the property for a medium double-digit million amount, according to the business magazine. The new owner is no stranger: the 39-year-old is one of the 100 most successful and wealthiest Swiss under 40 – and one of the wealthiest women in the country. Her family has been on the “balance sheet” list of the 300 richest Swiss for years. Kaindl-Benes’ assets are estimated at CHF 700 to 800 million. She also lives in Küsnacht.
Second marriage daughter
The Austrian family grew rich with wood. In 1966 Ernst Kaindl (88 †), Ines Kaindl-Benes father, founded the wood processor Kronospan in Menznau LU. Today the company is called Swiss Krono Group. It is now the world’s largest producer of laminate floors and is also a global market leader as a manufacturer of wood-based materials. Ernst Kaindl died in 2017. Ines, his daughter from a second marriage, has headed the company since then.
From its headquarters in Lucerne, the owner now controls ten production sites in eight countries. This Swiss industrial company is benefiting from the ongoing construction boom: around 5,100 employees produce 55 football fields on laminate every day, generating sales of over CHF 2 billion in the past financial year. The Swiss company’s plants are located in Poland, Germany, France, Russia, the United States and Ukraine. The Swiss Krono Group employs 475 people in Switzerland.
Gunman on company premises
But the successful entrepreneur also had to endure difficult times. There was a bloodbath shortly after 9 a.m. on the wood processing company’s premises in Menznau in 2013. The long-time employee Viktor B. * (42) from Willisau LU shot his colleague’s pistol – a Sphinx, model AZ 380 – at work colleagues. Five people were mortally injured, including the perpetrator.
«This Wednesday changed our lives forever. The incredible tragedy cannot be put into words, »said Kaindl-Benes to SonntagsBlick at the time. It was one of the few public statements made by the otherwise very media-shy 39-year-old. Otherwise, she avoids the public just like her father.
Illegal logging in Ukraine
In 2018, the company also had to face allegations by the British NGO Earthsight. This accused the wood processor of being partly responsible for the massive illegal logging in Ukraine. However, Swiss Krono claimed not to process illegally felled wood from Ukraine.
In addition to its wood empire, Kaindl-Benes is also active in the real estate business with the Iminka company.
The Villa Algonquin should not have acquired it for itself, but as a property for returns. In any case, the couple Turner and Bach may stay in the house. «Everything stays the same for Tina Turner and her husband Erwin Bach. Only the ownership has changed, nothing else, »explains Turner’s media officer Christoph Richterich in an interview with BLICK.
The former owner Kaspar Fleischmann is also allowed to stay there. He lives in one of the two boathouses of the spacious property. It offers 5521 square meters and, in addition to the two boathouses, consists of a main building with four floors.
* Name of the editor known