[1] Born in Vienna to an Austrian mother and a German father, Klinz holds dual citizenship.

He graduated with an M.Com in 1963 from the Hochschule für Welthandel (now Vienna University of Economics and Business), a PhD in 1965, and an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, in 1966.

He finished his business career as CEO of a large German corporation in 2003 when he decided to go into European politics.

From 2000 to 2004, Klinz held the (honorary) position of President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Frankfurt am Main.

On 1 September 2020 Dr. Wolf Klinz was appointed as an Honorary Professor of European Policy and International Management of the Ukrainian-American Concordia University (UACU).