From the BZ editorial team
Dietrich Mateschitz (78), self-made billionaire, entrepreneur, sports patron and father of the energy drink Red Bull (“… gives wings”) is said to be seriously ill, according to RTL / ntv.
The German TV broadcaster reports this on its website.
Austrian media are now also reporting on the disease, and Red Bull made an official statement to RTL: “As you know, it has always been important for Mr. Mateschitz to keep his private life away from the public. Nothing changed about that.”
“No comment, it’s a private matter, we don’t comment on it,” said Mateschitz’s friend and confidant Helmut Marko on RTL / ntv request.
Dietrich “Didi” Mateschitz is by far the richest Austrian (estimated wealth as of 2021: 26.9 billion US dollars, he owned 49 percent of the Red Bull company) – and at the same time probably the most shy.
He was never part of society, public appearances have always been rare, he hardly ever gives interviews. There are only photos of him when he takes part in his own sporting events: at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring in Styria/Spielberg or at games of his football clubs Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig. Mateschitz has not been seen at public events for about a year.
Benjamin Henrichs from RB Leipzig Photo: picture alliance / Jens Niering | Jens Niering
He changed the world with his Red Bull cans (9.804 billion of them were sold worldwide in 2021) and his sparkling, unconventional advertising campaigns. In 1984, business graduate Mateschitz founded Red Bull GmbH with the Yoovidhya entrepreneurial family from Thailand.
Mateschitz had the recipe of the energy drink changed, invented a marketing concept, Red Bull was launched on the market in 1987 – and was soon the world market leader for energy drinks. Red Bull has long been considered by far the most valuable brand in Austria.
Parallel to his energy drink empire, Mateschitz built his own media empire, the Red Bull Media House (including Servus TV, Red Bull TV, Bergwelten magazine, magazines, books, Red Bull Records).
In one of his rare interviews he once said: “Money was never a driving force for me. It always came last on the list of motivating things. For me, the driving force has always been freedom and independence and joy in my projects. Joy is the basic requirement for everything you do.”