Within four decades, the Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz created an unprecedented empire with the Red Bull beverage brand, numerous media and professional sports teams – and became extraordinarily rich with it. He has now died at the age of 78. An obituary.
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Felix Haselsteiner and Uwe Ritzer
Supposedly he studied a whopping 20 semesters, business administration up to the commercial diploma, at the University of World Trade in Vienna, today’s University of Economics. Dietrich Mateschitz, born on May 20, 1944 in little Sankt Marein in Styria, later said succinctly that it just took him “two or three years longer” than “I might have had to”. It wasn’t the only subject he didn’t like to share information on. The word “public shy” was used very often in his context. Only very rarely did Mateschitz speak to a very few selected journalists, preferably about two of his greatest passions: flying and motorsport.