Dietrich Mateschitz
Encyclopedia
Dietrich Mateschitz is an Austria
n businessman who co-founded the Red Bull
energy drink company and holds 49 per cent of the company's shares.
, Styria, Austria
to a family of Croatian
ancestry. His parents were both primary school teachers and separated when he was very young. Although never married, he has a son. He holds a pilot's licence and enjoys flying a Falcon 900
and a Piper Super Cub.
After taking ten years to graduate from the Hochschule für Welthandel (now Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) with a marketing degree, 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. It was as part of his travels for Blendax that he discovered Krating Daeng
, the drink that would later become Red Bull
. In 1984, he founded Red Bull GmbH with his Thai partners Chaleo
and Chalerm Yoovidhya with the launch in Austria in 1987. Subsequently, he turned the Red Bull drink into a world market leader 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.
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 Camry
s 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 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.
He also plans to create an Avionautik Akademie in Zeltweg
jointly with the Austrian Army. 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
. 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) 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.
In May 2009, he founded a German football club called RB Leipzig
and was named as owner.
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.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n businessman who co-founded the Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
energy drink company and holds 49 per cent of the company's shares.
Biography
Mateschitz was born in Sankt Marein im MürztalSankt Marein im Mürztal
Sankt Marein im Mürztal is a municipality in the district of Bruck an der Mur in Styria, Austria.-References:...
, Styria, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to a family of Croatian
Burgenland Croats
Burgenland Croats are ethnic Croats in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Although an enclave hundreds of kilometres away from their original homeland, they have managed to preserve culture and language for centuries...
ancestry. His parents were both primary school teachers and separated when he was very young. Although never married, he has a son. He holds a pilot's licence and enjoys flying a Falcon 900
Falcon 900
|-See also:-External links:* * * *...
and a Piper Super Cub.
After taking ten years to graduate from the Hochschule für Welthandel (now Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) with a marketing degree, Mateschitz's first employer was Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
, where he worked marketing detergents. He subsequently moved to Blendax, the German cosmetics company since bought by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, where he worked, among other things, in the marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
of Blendax tooth paste. It was as part of his travels for Blendax that he discovered Krating Daeng
Krating Daeng
Krating Daeng is a sweetened, non-carbonated energy drink. The drink is mostly sold in Asia but can be found in Austria, Sweden, Australia, Canada and New Zealand where it is sometimes renamed "Thai Red Bull"...
, the drink that would later become Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
. In 1984, he founded Red Bull GmbH with his Thai partners Chaleo
Chaleo Yoovidhya
Chaleo Yoovidhya or Chaliao Yuwitthaya is a Thai Chinese businessperson and is listed as the richest person in Thailand, with an estimated net worth of $4 billion. He owns 49% of Red Bull, his son named Chalerm Yoovidhya owns 2%. The remaining 49% is owned by Dietrich Mateschitz who launched the...
and Chalerm Yoovidhya with the launch in Austria in 1987. Subsequently, he turned the Red Bull drink into a world market leader among energy drinks.
He lives in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
but also owns Laucala
Laucala
Laucala is one of three small islands lying to the east of Thurston Point on the island of Taveuni in Fiji. The privately owned island is the site of the exclusive Laucala Resort....
Island, off Fiji, which he bought from the Forbes family for £7 million.
Sports
Mateschitz is known as a marketing specialist. His company is known for its advertisingAdvertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and as a sponsor for various types of extreme sports. In November 2004, Mateschitz bought the Jaguar
Jaguar Racing
Jaguar Racing was a Formula One team that competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2000 to 2004. It was formed from the purchase by Ford of Jackie Stewart's Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team in June 1999. Ford renamed the team Jaguar Racing as part of its global marketing...
Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team from its previous owners, Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, and it was subsequently renamed Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
. In September 2005, Mateschitz joined forces with his close friend and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....
, and purchased the Italian-registered Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...
team from its Australian owner Paul Stoddart
Paul Stoddart
Paul Stoddart, born 26 May 1955, is an Australian millionaire airline magnate, and former owner of the Minardi Formula One racing team. He later took the Minardi brand into the Champ Car World Series after his purchase of a portion of CTE-HVM Racing which he renamed Minardi Team USA for 2007.-Early...
. The team was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...
, Toro Rosso meaning Red Bull in Italian. In 2010 Red Bull won the Formula 1 Constructors Championship and Drivers Championship with Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
. In 2011
2011 Formula One season
The 2011 Formula One season was the 62nd FIA Formula One season. The original calendar consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over...
, the team won their second consecutive constructors championship, and Sebastian Vettel became double world champion.
He also owns a NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
team called Team Red Bull
Team Red Bull
Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, is a NASCAR team owned by Dietrich Mateschitz. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and is managed by Jay Frye...
which fields two Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
s for drivers Brian Vickers
Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers is a American NASCAR driver. He was the 2003 Busch Series champion, and at age 20, became the youngest champion in any of NASCAR's three top-tier series...
and Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series....
, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and a Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
for driver Cole Whitt
Cole Whitt
Cole Whitt is a American stock car driver and development driver for Red Bull Racing Team. After advancing his way through Kart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver for Red Bull. After running in the Camping World Series East, Whitt made his NASCAR debut in 2010...
in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
In late 2004, he bought the former Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
circuit A1-Ring
Österreichring
The Red Bull Ring is an Austrian race circuit in Spielberg, Styria.The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from...
, renaming it the Red Bull Ring. The circuit opened in May 2011 and hosted a round of the 2011 DTM season
2011 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season
The 2011 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season is a multi-event motor racing series largely based in Germany for highly-modified touring car racing cars and is one of the most popular sedan car based motor racing series in the world. The series features professional motor racing teams and drivers is...
. Mateschitz states that there are no plans for it to return to the Formula 1 calendar. Mateschitz plans 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.
He also plans to create an Avionautik Akademie in Zeltweg
Zeltweg
Zeltweg is a town in Styria, Austria. It is located in the Aichfeld basin of the Mur River in Upper Styria. Larger municipalities in the vicinity are Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Fohnsdorf.-History:...
jointly with the Austrian Army. He has his own hangar
Hangar-7
Hangar-7 is a hangar in Salzburg, Austria owned by Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. It houses a restaurant, two bars, a lounge and aircraft, and is open to the public. It includes the Michelin starred restaurant Ikarus.-External links:*...
, where he keeps his collection of old planes, including the final produced Douglas DC-6B
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
which once belonged to Marshal Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
. He also sponsors the World Stunt Awards, an annual fundraiser to benefit his Taurus Foundation, which helps injured stunt
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
professionals.
In April 2005, he bought the Austrian football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club SV Austria Salzburg and in March 2006, he bought the American soccer club MetroStars
Metrostars
Metrostar may refer to:*New York Red Bulls, formerly called the "MetroStars", a soccer team from New York*Manila Metro Rail Transit System, popularly called "The Metrostar Express", a part of the metropolitan rail system in Manila...
; both clubs were subsequently (and somewhat controversially) renamed for his famous drink, as Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull New York
Red Bull New York
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The team competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
, 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.
In May 2009, he founded a German football club called RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig is a German association football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club is supported by energy drink-maker Red Bull who purchased the license of fifth division side SSV Markranstädt with the intention of advancing the re-modeled club to the top-flight Bundesliga within ten years...
and was named as owner.
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.