Published on 02/4/2009

Another day another Croatian billionaire. Dietrich Mateschitz (born May 20, 1944 in Sankt Marein im Mürztal, Styria) is an Austrian businessman and billionaire. He is of Croatian heritage. Lives in Salzburg, but also owns Laucala Island, off Fiji. Brilliant in marketing and business, he holds 49 percent of shares in the energy drink producer Red Bull.

Red Bull self-made Croatian Billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz

Dietrich Mateschitz

The World's Billionaires #287 Dietrich Mateschitz

Age: 62
Fortune: self made
Source: Red Bull
Net Worth: $3.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Austria
Residence: Fuschl am See , Austria, Europe & Russia
Industry: Beverages
Marital Status: single, 1 child
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science

With Thai business partner Chaleo Yoovidhya, created Red Bull energy drink and marketed it to young people using cheeky advertising and extreme sports sponsorships. Company also owns a Formula One team, and two soccer teams: Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls, known as MetroStars before company bought it last March. A Taurus (the zodiac sign of the bull), Mateschitz owns 49% of the $3.4 billion (sales) company. Spending less time these days on daily operations. Keeps busy with his many other interests including a new construction company and Hangar-7, the event center situated on the grounds of Salzburg airport that houses his historic aircraft collection, the Flying Bulls. Also developing a luxury resort on Laucala, an island in Fiji that he owns.

What Wikipedia says. If you have corrections please update.

Dietrich Mateschitz (born May 20, 1944 in Sankt Marein im Mürztal, Styria) is an Austrian businessman and billionaire. He is of Croatian heritage[1]. He lives in Salzburg, but also owns Laucala Island, off Fiji, which he bought from the Forbes family for £ 7 million.[2] He holds 49 percent of shares in the energy drink producer Red Bull. Mateschitz was raised by two primary-school-teacher parents who separated when he was very young.[3] Although never married, he reportedly has a son.[2] He rarely drinks alcohol and does not smoke, and his friends include Bernd Pischetsrieder, the former Volkswagen boss. [2] He holds a pilot's licence and enjoys flying a Falcon 900 and a Piper Super Cub.[2]

After taking ten years to graduate from the Hochschule für Welthandel (now Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) with a marketing degree,[3] Mateschitz's first employer was Unilever, where he got to grips with detergents. He subsequently moved to Blendax, the German cosmetics company since bought by Procter & Gamble, where he worked on, among other things, in the marketing of Blendax tooth paste.[4] It was as part of his travels for Blendax that he discovered the drink that would later become Red Bull.[3] In 1984, he founded Red Bull GmbH [5] with his Thai partners Chaleo and Chalerm Yoovidhya with the launch in Austria in 1987. [4] Subsequently, he turned the Red Bull drink into the world market leader among energy drinks. Beside the crystal group Swarovski, the candy producer Manner, and the lingerie company Palmers, Red Bull is Austria's only consumer brand with a worldwide reputation.

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