 His father was the landowner and ambassador Count Hans-Adolf von Moltke (1884–1943) on the Wernersdorf estate where he was born.His mother was Countess Davida York of Wartenburg (1900–1989), the daughter of Count Heinrich York of Wartenburg.In 1958, Moltke began his studies of law and national economics at the Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg.