The firm’s management has expressed its “sadness” and his “gratitude for what he has accomplished”. The founder of energy drink company Red Bull, Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, has died at the age of 78, the company announced on Saturday (October 22nd). “Dietrich Mateschitz passed away today”, wrote management in an email to employees on Saturday. According to the Austrian agency APA, he died of cancer.
Born on May 20, 1944, Dietrich Mateschitz created Red Bull in 1984, after discovering the beverage at a hotel bar in Hong Kong. Impressed by the drink’s apparent ability to help him overcome his jet lag, Mateschitz had decided to team up with Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya, who developed the drink, to found Red Bull.
Today, Red Bull employs more than 13,000 people in 172 countries, with a turnover of around 8 billion euros, and sells nearly 10 billion cans a year. Dietrich Mateschitz was considered in 2022 as the first fortune of Austria, estimated at 27.4 billion euros, according to the magazine Forbes.
The entrepreneur had bet on sports sponsorship, so as not to depend solely on the income generated by his energy drink and to offer him unparalleled exposure. In thirty years, the firm, which has established its sponsorship policy with extreme sports, has become an essential partner in world sport.
Red Bull is also committed to two key disciplines in world sport, Formula 1 and football. The company also sponsors the athletes themselves, in all disciplines. Among them, the famous Brazilian footballer Neymar, whom Red Bull regularly stages through mini-series.