DLNews Staff:

Now he gives wings to the angels in heaven.

Dietrich Mateschitz, self-made billionaire, entrepreneur, sports patron, and father of the energy drink Red Bull ("... gives wings"), is dead. All Red Bull employees received an email on Sunday with the sad news that their boss died at age 78.

Red Bull motorsport director Helmut Marko (79), a long-time Mateschitz friend, confirmed the news on Sky: "We knew that he was in a dire state of health. But still, now that it's happened, it's unbelievable for all of us."

The charismatic Austrian had cancer and had lost a lot of weight in the past few months. His family and close associates knew about him, but Mateschitz didn't want the public to know about his condition.

The native of Styria/Austria has lost the fight against the insidious disease.

Mateschitz 2017 with his partner Marion Feichtner

Mateschitz was never married. He leaves behind his partner Marion Feichtner (39) and his son Mark (29) from the relationship with ex-partner Anita Gerhardter (Head of the Mateschitz Foundation "Wings for Life"). Mark Mateschitz, according to Red Bull, should follow in his father's footsteps and have been prepared for the powerful legacy in recent years.

Dietrich "Didi" Mateschitz was by far the wealthiest Austrian (estimated fortune as of 2021: 26.9 billion US dollars, he owned 49 percent of the Red Bull company) - and at the same time, probably the shyest.

His son Mark (left) is to take over the Red Bull empire

He was never part of society, rarely made public appearances, and rarely gave interviews. There were only photos of him when he took part in his own sporting events: at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring in Styria/Spielberg, or at games played by his football clubs Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

His Red Bull cans (9.804 billion were sold worldwide in 2021) and his sparkling, unconventional advertising campaigns changed the world. In 1984, business graduate Mateschitz founded Red Bull GmbH with the Yoovidhya entrepreneurial family from Thailand.

Mateschitz changed the energy drink recipe and invented a marketing concept; Red Bull was launched on the market in 1987 and was soon the world market leader for energy drinks. Red Bull has long been considered the most valuable brand in Austria.

Mateschitz hated ties, always wore only jeans, and hated hierarchies. He owned a villa in Salzburg, a country estate in Maria Alm am Steinernen Meer, and a forest estate in Styria, Austria. And the private island of Laucla Island in Fiji in the South Pacific; He bought the 1,416-hectare island and luxury resort of Como in 2013 from the heirs of publisher Malcolm Forbes.

Mateschitz was a successful, unconventional entrepreneur.

Parallel to his energy drink empire, Mateschitz built his own media empire, the Red Bull Media House (including Servus TV, Red Bull TV, Bergwelten magazine, magazines, books, and Red Bull Records).

In one of his rare interviews, he once said: "Money was never a driving force for me. It always came last on the list of motivating things. For me, my projects' driving force has always been freedom, independence, and joy. Joy is the basic requirement for everything you do."