Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder of energy drink maker Red Bull and founder and owner of the Red Bull Formula 1 team, has died at the age of 78. Red Bull team officials confirmed Mateschitz’s death on Saturday, without disclosing where the Austrian died or the cause of death. According to the Austrian agency APA, the businessman died of a prolonged illness.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), said Mateschitz was “an imposing figure in motorsport”. “The thoughts of the entire FIA family are with their loved ones at this time and they will be missed,” added Ben Sulayem.
Mateschitz gained fame as the public face of Red Bull, an Austrian-Thai conglomerate that says it sold nearly 10 billion cans of the caffeine- and taurine-based drink in 172 countries around the world in 2021. Mateschitz not only helped make the popular energy drink the world, but also built a sports, media, real estate and gastronomic empire around the brand.
With the growing success of Red Bull, the Austrian has significantly expanded investment in the sport. Red Bull now operates soccer clubs, ice hockey teams and Formula 1 teams, and has contracts with hundreds of athletes in various sports.
Mateschitz and Thai investor Chaleo Yoovidhya founded the company in 1984 after the Austrian recognized the potential to market Krating Daeng, another energy drink created by Chaleo, to a Western audience.
Red Bull says Mateschitz worked on the formula for three years before launching the modified drink, under the new name, in his native Austria in 1987.
The Red Bull Racing team has been successful in Formula 1, having Dutchman Max Verstappen, current two-time world champion, in the team.
Red Bull operates soccer teams in the top divisions of Austria, Germany, Brazil and the United States, including RB Leipzig, which rose from the German fifth division to the Bundesliga in seven seasons.
Mateschitz also made headlines for his populist views, in particular for criticizing then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her handling of the 2015-16 refugee crisis.
The Red Bull-owned Austrian television station Servus is known for promoting controversial right-wing views.
Source: Observadora
