Austrian billionaire is in danger of losing not only real estate, but also a private jet, luxury yacht and castle | News

René Benko made his fortune as a real estate magnate with his Signa Holding for years and amassed interests in coveted properties such as the famous Chrysler building in New York, retail chains and a historic hotel in Venice. In Hamburg, Signa is constructing a 245-meter-high tower. That project is now on hold.

Rising interest rates, falling real estate valuations and more difficult lending led to René Benko’s Signa holding company in trouble. The bankruptcy of the Austrian real estate and retail group Signa has had dramatic consequences. Both German and Swiss parts of the real estate group have filed for protection against creditors. Thousands of employees are at risk of losing their jobs. Curators are currently trying to find buyers for various parts of Signa Holding.

Signa also owns Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which owns the Belgian Inno stores. Inno recently said in a press release that the financial problems at Austrian Signa Holding have no impact on the Belgian department store chain and that the company is and remains “completely independent” of Signa Holding.

But the private life of the billionaire and his wife Nathalie (33) also threatens to change drastically. Just after Signa’s bankruptcy became known, the couple was spotted with their children flying from Tyrol to Barcelona on their private jet. To put their worries behind them, they went there for a weekend of shopping. The billionaire wore sneakers costing 800 euros, his wife a Chanel handbag costing 8,000 euros. According to ‘Bild’, the family returned to Tyrol on Sunday with many shopping bags.

During that same weekend, the billionaire tried to raise money in every possible way. According to Austrian media, his personal belongings were also not left out. For example, a Greek real estate agent is offering the billionaire’s luxury yacht ‘Roma’ for sale. The yacht, which can accommodate just 12 guests and 14 crew members, has an operating cost of 12,000 euros per day. René Benko bought it from another Austrian investor for 60 million euros, but is now selling it for just 39 million.

A curator has now decided that trips by private jet are no longer possible. Benko spent 2.2 million euros on flights by plane last year. Signa spent almost half a million euros on its helicopter flights last year. For the billionaire’s private security it was 722,000 euros, and for hunting, one of his hobbies, it was 409,000 euros. He can no longer incur those costs.

According to the Austrian newspaper ‘Heute’, real estate from the family’s private empire is also at risk. These include a castle in Igls near Innsbruck, and Chalet N – named after wife Nathalie – in the luxurious ski village of Oberlech in Vorarlberg.

Real estate experts estimate the value of Chalet N at at least 40 million euros. The Vorarlberg Bank, which gave loans to Signa, would be entitled to half of the property. The castle in Igls, where the family lives, is also said to be heavily mortgaged. And no more artwork by Pablo Picasso will hang on the walls. Several of the billionaire’s expensive works of art are for sale.

The American magazine ‘Forbes’ estimated René Benko’s fortune last summer at approximately 6 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros). By the end of November, this had already dropped to 2.8 billion dollars (2.5 billion euros). Benko dropped in the rankings from 425th to 1,104th. Last week he himself was completely removed from the list of the richest people in the world. “Exactly how many problems he has is not entirely clear,” Forbes writes.