Billionaire Richard Lugner dies at age 91, two months after marrying sixth wife

 

 

Billionaire Richard Lugner has died at the age of 91, just two months after marrying his sixth wife, Simone Reiländer.

The Austrian businessman died on Monday, August 12, at his villa in Vienna, according to Agence France-Presse.

Emergency services were unable to revive Lugner after he rushed home on Monday, the US Sun newspaper reported.

According to the US Sun newspaper, Lugner has also had some health problems in recent months, including being hospitalized for a ruptured heart valve in July.

Over the years, Lugner was known for taking numerous celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson and Goldie Hawn, to the famous Vienna Opera Balls.

On social media, several celebrities shared their tributes to the billionaire following his passing.

On X (formerly Twitter), Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer shared a photo of himself with Lunger and the billionaire’s girlfriend, Priscilla Presley, at the ball in February 2024. In his tribute, translated from German to English, Nehammer wrote: “Richard Lugner was a successful entrepreneur and a dazzling personality. An original Austrian who never lost his way. May he rest in peace!”

Reiländer, who married Lugner in June, also posted a sweet tribute on Instagram along with a colorful painting of her late husband. “You were the dream of my life. And when I saw you shining in my sight, then I knew I was yours too. In love,” she wrote in the caption, which was translated from German to English.

The entrepreneur, who began his career in the construction industry, married the 42-year-old at Vienna City Hall in front of 50 guests. Before Reiländer, Lugner was married five times. He was married to Christine Gmeiner from 1961 to 1978 and they had two sons: Alexander and Andreas. Lugner was also married to Cornelia Laufersweiler for four years before remarrying Susanne Dietrich in 1984.

After Lugner and Dietrich separated in 1989, he married Christina Lugner a year later. They welcomed their daughter, Jacqueline, in 1993 and divorced in 2007. From 2014 to 2016, Lugner was married to Playboy model Cathy Schmitz. The billionaire also welcomed a daughter, Nadine, in 1985 from his previous relationship with Sonja Jeannine.

In 1990, Lugner rose to fame after building Lugner City, the seventh largest shopping mall in Austria at the time. Shortly after their marriage, Reiländer shared her plans to support her husband by working on his Vienna business empire.

Speaking to Bild in June, Lugner admitted that his wife would one day take over his business. “She should actively support me. From now on, we will share my work,” he said. “At some point, when I’m no longer around, she will be the sole boss. But at the moment I’m still among the living.”

Lugner detailed his wife’s job responsibilities, which included managing the company’s 80 employees, “raising money and making TikTok videos” with her husband. “My wife is in charge now,” he said, before Reiländer added, “Richard said to me, ‘I’m the boss and now you’re the boss.’”

While his wife was taking over as CEO of his company, that didn’t mean other family members wouldn’t be involved in the business. “First of all, there’s enough to do for everyone. And I should be relieved of some of the workload. My son Alexander takes care of the construction issues and my daughter Jacqueline takes care of the cinema,” Lugner added. [AFP/Independent]

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