Ralph Sonnenberg

Ralph Sonnenberg was born in Rotterdam in May 1934. His father, Henry Sonnenberg, had started a machine factory in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1919. As a Jewish refugee he moved to the Netherlands in 1933, bringing the factory with him in about 150 railway wagons and rebuilding it in Rotterdam.

Because of rising antisemitism in Europe, his father sent Ralph to New York when he was four years old. He grew up in the United States and studied at Williams College in Massachusetts in the 1950s. In 1946 Henry Sonnenberg went into partnership with John Hunter to manufacture Venetian blinds, founding the business that became Hunter Douglas.

Sonnenberg began working in his father's company in 1956 and succeeded him as its leader in 1972. His sons later said he had a rare talent for recognising entrepreneurial people and bringing them together, and that for more than 60 years he shaped Hunter Douglas around them.

Under his leadership the originally Dutch company became the global leader in window coverings, with operations in more than 100 countries and brands including Luxaflex, Duette and Silhouette. Hunter Douglas was listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, but it was registered in Curaçao, where its shareholder meetings were held, and Sonnenberg always kept majority control. In 2005, aged 71, he raised his stake from 53 percent to 79 percent; his sons Marko and David had become co-directors a year earlier.

On the last day of 2021 it was announced that 3G Capital would take a majority stake in Hunter Douglas. The company then had around 23,000 employees and annual revenue of about 4.6 billion dollars. The Sonnenberg family retained 25 percent after the company left the stock exchange, and Sonnenberg turned his attention to investing, which his sons said he pursued with passion every day until his death.

Sonnenberg was married and had three children. He moved to Switzerland in 1992 and lived at Schloss Neuhabsburg in Meggen, overlooking Lake Lucerne. According to Quote he also held an Irish passport from 1994, and he kept the Blankenburg estate in Wassenaar in the Netherlands until it was sold in 2026.

He was known for avoiding publicity and gave very few interviews. In a rare 2005 interview with NRC Handelsblad he said he refused to become a plaything of journalists. Former staff described him as modest and closely informed about even the smallest parts of the business.

Ralph Sonnenberg died on 25 September 2026, aged 92. His death was not made public until 29 October 2026, when his sons David and Marko Sonnenberg shared a statement with the interior trade publication Wonen360 and a letter to staff was reported by Quote. The family did not disclose the place or cause of death.

In their statement his sons described him as a devoted husband, father and grandfather, and as a legendary entrepreneur, investor and mentor who brought vitality, practical wisdom, flexibility and a sharp focus on essentials to everything he did. His death was also reported by NRC, De Telegraaf and InteriorDaily.

Sonnenberg turned a family blinds business founded by a refugee into one of the best known names in home interiors, and Luxaflex became a household word in the Netherlands. His sons said the principles he laid down remain the foundation of Hunter Douglas. At his death he was one of the wealthiest people in the Netherlands, ranked third in the Quote 500 of 2026.