Billion thriller breaks out: who will inherit from Red Bull patriarch Mateschitz?

Billion thriller breaks out
Who will inherit from Red Bull patriarch Mateschitz?

By Thomas Steinmann and Jannik Tillar

The death of Dieter Mateschitz leaves a difficult power vacuum at Red Bull. There are two potential successors: Mateschitz’s only son and the son of the Thai majority owners. Both are not optimal. Interpol is looking for one. Time is running out.

Dietrich Mateschitz was Red Bull – and Red Bull was Dietrich Mateschitz. The death of the 78-year-old not only caused dismay in the company, but also in the sports scene, in which Red Bull has been investing heavily for years. Mateschitz was the type of founder who stayed in power to the end. He did not set up a designated successor. This is one of the reasons why there is now turmoil in the group and in sport: Nobody knows who will follow Mateschitz to the top – and where Red Bull is heading.

The circumstances of Mateschitz’ death alone suggest that the energy drink manufacturer is very hectic: the Austrian has been suffering from pancreatic cancer for a year and a half. However, this was not communicated openly, like so much about Mateschitz as a person.

The entrepreneur was extremely media shy and appeared, if at all, at sporting events such as Formula 1, where Red Bull is active. For a long time, only those closest to him knew what was really going on with him. But even when Mateschitz lost more and more weight in the past few months and the illness was no longer a secret, at least in the company’s management circles, no clear regulation was apparently made for the successor.

Mateschitz wanted to raise his son

According to “Capital” information, a high-ranking Red Bull manager flew to Thailand at the end of September to talk to Mateschitz’ joint venture partner, the Yoovidhya family, about the successor. The powerful family clan, which goes back to the inventor of the drink Chaleo Yoovidhya, currently holds 51 percent of Red Bull GmbH, which has its headquarters in Fuschl am See. He must therefore approve the new CEO.

Mateschitz has a son who has repeatedly been publicly traded as a possible successor. However, Mark Mateschitz is only 29 years old and not everyone in the company and among the shareholders is convinced that he would be up to the task. There is already speculation in the Austrian media that the family would prefer to hire an external CEO. In any case, one thing is clear: the otherwise quiet group is currently in turmoil.

It also fits that there has been speculation in Austria for weeks about Mateschitz’s critical state of health. Red Bull officially announced the death on October 22nd. The circumstances match the reticence of Red Bull and Mateschitz, but also indicate that all sides are still working on a solution for the company – which does not yet exist.

Mateschitz, who was only called “Didi” by many who wanted to adorn themselves with an alleged proximity to the billionaire – but he absolutely didn’t like the name – allegedly would have liked to install his son Mark as his successor. This comes from the two-year relationship with the ski instructor Anita Gerhardter. Father and son are said to have had a close relationship, although little is known officially. However, both occasionally appeared together at sporting events.

At first glance, Mateschitz built his son up a bit as a successor. Mark Mateschitz worked in the company early on and later studied business administration. However, it is unclear how important the tasks that the patriarch transferred to his son were. As Red Bull insiders report, Dietrich Mateschitz remained the ruler of the group to the end. Mark Mateschitz assumed responsibility as head of the “Wings for Life” family foundation. But there are serious doubts as to whether this experience is sufficient to manage a company with 13,600 employees and 7.8 billion euros in annual sales.

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Vorayuth Yoovidhya, grandson of Red Bull inventor Chaleo Yoovidhya, is wanted by Interpol after a fatal accident.

(Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Yoovidhya family, Mateschitz’ joint venture partner and Red Bull majority owner, cannot present a natural successor from their own circles either. Interpol has been looking for his son Vorayuth for almost ten years because he is said to have run over a police officer under the influence of cocaine in 2012 and then fled. The police officer died, and Vorayuth Yoovidhya has since evaded Thai justice. But he keeps appearing on the fringes of Formula 1 races.

Even if things often run differently at Red Bull than in many large corporations and closeness is part of the corporate culture: the owners will soon have to come up with a successor solution for the man who was Red Bull for decades.

The article first appeared at Capital.de.

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