Dietrich Mateschitz, the Austrian billionaire who founded and owns the energy drink firm Red Bull, died on
Saturday at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.
The Red Bull Formula One team, which is currently leading the championship, confirmed his death.
The Styrian-born entrepreneur developed a global empire on the energy drink Red Bull and was widely regarded as
Austria’s richest man. Mateschitz’s fortune is reported to be approximately 25 billion euros ($24.65 billion). This
places him in 51st place on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest individuals.
The self-made billionaire was regarded as a marketing genius. After graduating from the University of World Trade
in Vienna, he worked as a marketing specialist for several corporations in the 1970s.
On his business excursions to Asia, he learned about the energy and stimulant drink markets. At the time, these
drinks were completely unknown in Europe and the United States. In 1983, he received the Asian license for such a
drink. One year later, he co-founded Red Bull GmbH with the Thai entrepreneurial family Yoovidhya, holding a 49%
stake.
Red Bull entered the market in 1987 after changing the recipe of a Thai energy drink and devising a marketing
strategy. Following a tough market launch, the frothy, fizzy, sweet drink with a taste akin to gummy bears rose to
become the global market leader. In 2021, the group generated 7.8 billion euros in revenue and sold 9.8 billion Red
Bull cans worldwide.
The company, situated in Fuschl am See, Salzburg, is also recognized for its imaginative advertising, which includes
the world-famous phrase “Red Bull gives you wings”. Mateschitz considered entering the US market at the end of the
1990s to be a significant milestone. Today, every third can is sold in the United States.
The entrepreneur focused much on the drink’s image. He related the Red Bull brand with adventure sports such as
surfing, mountain biking, and cliff diving, and the firm later became a sponsor in several of them.