Dietrich Mateschitz

Dietrich Mateschitz (born 20 May 1944) is an Austrian businessman who co-founded the Red Bull energy drink company and holds 49^{[citation needed]} per cent of the company's shares.

Biography

Mateschitz was born in Sankt Marein im Mürztal, Styria, Austria to a family of Croatian ancestry.^[1][2][3] His parents were both primary school teachers and separated when he was very young.^[4] Although never married, he has a son.^[5] He holds a pilot's licence and enjoys flying a Falcon 900 and a Piper Super Cub.^[5]

After taking ten years to graduate from the Hochschule für Welthandel (now Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) with a marketing degree,^[4] Mateschitz's first employer was Unilever, where he worked marketing detergents. He subsequently moved to Blendax, the German cosmetics company since bought by Procter & Gamble, where he worked, among other things, in the marketing of Blendax tooth paste.^[6] It was as part of his travels for Blendax that he discovered Krating Daeng, the drink that would later become Red Bull.^[4] In 1984, he founded Red Bull GmbH ^[7] with his Thai partners Chaleo and Chalerm Yoovidhya with the launch in Austria in 1987.^[6] Subsequently, he turned the Red Bull drink into a world market leader^{[citation needed]} among energy drinks.

He lives in Salzburg, Austria but also owns Laucala Island, off Fiji, which he bought from the Forbes family for £7 million.^[5]

Sports

Mateschitz is known as a marketing specialist.^{[citation needed]} His company is known for its advertising^{[citation needed]} and as a sponsor for various types of extreme sports. In November 2004, Mateschitz bought the Jaguar Formula One team from its previous owners, Ford, and it was subsequently renamed Red Bull Racing. In September 2005, Mateschitz joined forces with his close friend and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger, and purchased the Italian-registered Minardi team from its Australian owner Paul Stoddart. The team was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso meaning Red Bull in Italian. In 2010 Red Bull won the Formula 1 Constructors Championship and Drivers Championship with Sebastian Vettel. In 2011, the team won their second consecutive constructors championship, and Sebastian Vettel became double world champion.

He also owns a NASCAR team called Team Red Bull which fields two Toyota Camrys for drivers Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and a Toyota Camry for driver Cole Whitt in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

In late 2004, he bought the former Formula One circuit A1-Ring, renaming it the Red Bull Ring. The circuit opened in May 2011 and hosted a round of the 2011 DTM season. Mateschitz states that there are no plans for it to return to the Formula 1 calendar. Mateschitz plans^{[citation needed]} to set up a testing site for the automobile industry at the Austrian race circuit A1-Ring. There are already very far developed plans, but residents of the area object.^{[citation needed]}

He also plans to create an Avionautik Akademie in Zeltweg jointly with the Austrian Army.^{[citation needed]} He has his own hangar, where he keeps his collection of old planes, including the final produced Douglas DC-6B which once belonged to Marshal Josip Broz Tito.^[8] He also sponsors the World Stunt Awards, an annual fundraiser to benefit his Taurus Foundation, which helps injured stunt professionals.

In April 2005, he bought the Austrian football club SV Austria Salzburg and in March 2006, he bought the American soccer club MetroStars; both clubs were subsequently (and somewhat controversially^{[citation needed]}) renamed for his famous drink, as Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull New York, respectively. In 2007, Red Bull founded Red Bull Brasil, a soccer team based in Campinas, Brazil. The team made access to 2nd division of the São Paulo championship in 2010, the most competitive state championship of the country^{[citation needed]}. In May 2009, he founded a German football club called RB Leipzig and was named as owner.^[9]

He also owns Seitenblicke, Austria's top society magazine, but avoids the celebrity circuit and watches most Formula One races on TV despite owning two teams.^[5]

See also

• List of billionaires

References

1. ^ (German) Lauterbach, Peter (2010-03-09). "Mateschitz is determined to be number one". Die Welt. http://www.welt.de/sport/formel1/article6691304/Mateschitz-will-unbedingt-die-Nummer-eins-sein.html. Retrieved 2010-05-16. "Mit dem smarten Einschlag seiner kroatischen Vorfahren gesegnet, ...("Blessed with the smart wrapping of his Croatian ancestry, ...")" 
2. ^ (Croatian) Matić, Srećko (2010-11-16). "Businessman of Croatian descent "gave wings" to Vettel". Deutsche Welle. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6236400,00.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
3. ^ (Croatian) A, R (2009-10-22). "Zadranin who enchanted the world". Narodni list. http://www.narodni-list.hr/articles/1bvaO1nXtyj. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} The Soda With Buzz. Kerry A. Dolan. Forbes. Pg. 126 Vol. 175 No. 6. March 28, 2005.
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Big man drives forward energy-packed brand. Peter Klinger. The Times (London). February 25, 2006.
6. ^ ^{a b} Red Bull CEO takes foot off gas. The Nation (Thailand). November 26, 2001.
7. ^ Grabbing the drinks market by the horns. The Sunday Herald. May 7, 2000.
8. ^ http://www.flyingbulls.com/#/en/Aircraft/Douglas-DC-6-B/About/
9. ^ Red Bull soll Leipziger Fußball Flügel verleihen

External links

• Forbes.com: The Soda With Buzz
• Times Online: Big man drives forward energy-packed brand – The media-shy mogul behind the Red Bull phenomenon

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Name	Mateschitz, Dietrich
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Date of birth	20 May 1944
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