Billionaire businessman Richard Lugner – who was known for paying celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Pamela Anderson hundreds of thousands of dollars to accompany him to lavish events – died on Monday. He was 91 years old.
The Austrian entrepreneur, who married his sixth wife Simone Reiländer just two months ago, has died in his villa in Vienna, according to several media reports.
As The Sun reports, rescue workers rushed to Lugner’s house on Monday but were unable to resuscitate him.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer mourned Lugner on Monday with a touching tribute, writing in a message on X translated from German into English: “Richard Lugner was a successful entrepreneur and a dazzling personality. An Austrian original who never lost his way. May he rest in peace!”
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The late construction magnate married the 42-year-old Reiländer in Vienna City Hall in June. The couple, who had an age difference of 49 years, said “I do” in front of 50 guests and 30 press representatives.
The “House Party” actress alluded to her sex life with Lugner, telling local media after their wedding that they “had a very long wedding night. Longer than the wedding day.”
As The Sun reported on June 21, Lugner was hospitalized shortly after the wedding because he was suffering from debilitating back pain. He attributed the injury to his exercise bike and had to receive daily anaesthetic injections from a pain therapist.
On July 12, his health deteriorated further when he was admitted to Vienna General Hospital due to a ruptured heart valve.
After the shock over his health condition, Lugner announced that his funeral had been planned and his tombstone had already been ordered.
“I wanted to have everything sorted out. My heirs should know what to do,” he told reporters at the time.
Lugner recently announced that Reiländer had taken over his business operations completely.
“My wife is now in charge. She should actively support me. From now on we will share my work,” he said, calling her the “sole boss” of his empire.
Lugner’s career took off after he opened Lugner City, Austria’s seventh-largest shopping mall, in 1990 and expanded his business from there. He also attempted to run for Austrian president in 1998 and 2016.
The high-society personality was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and underwent radiotherapy in 2017 to beat the disease.
Three years later, he was diagnosed with skin cancer. After surgical removal, the cancer recurred in 2021, requiring further surgical removal.
The eccentric socialite was known for hosting the Vienna Opera Ball annually since 1992. The high-profile event attracted celebrity guests, many of whom paid for admission, including Priscilla Presley, Sophia Loren and Paris Hilton.
Lugner shelled out thousands of dollars to have beautiful women accompany him to the annual soirée. He paid Kardashian $500,000 to accompany him in 2014 and $150,000 for Lindsay Lohan to accompany him in 2010.
Lugner, who had previously “dated” Kardashian, was married to Christine Gmeiner from 1961 to 1978, to Cornelia Laufersweiler from 1979 to 1983, to Susanne Dietrich from 1984 to 1989, to Christina Lugner from 1990 to 2007 and to Cathy Schmitz from 2014 to 2016.
He leaves behind four children from three previous relationships: Alexander, Andreas, Nadin and Jacqueline.
