Billionaire businessman Richard Lugner passed away on August 12, just two months after marrying his sixth wife, Simone Reiländer.
The 91-year-old Austrian entrepreneur was famous for inviting celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Pamela Anderson to join him at lavish events, often paying them significant sums. According to multiple reports, he died at his villa in Vienna.
First responders rushed to his mansion on Monday but were unable to revive him, as reported by The Sun.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer paid tribute to Lugner on X, saying, “Richard Lugner was a successful entrepreneur and a dazzling personality. An Austrian original who never lost his way. May he rest in peace!”
Lugner married 42-year-old Reiländer at Vienna City Hall in June.
The couple, who had a 49-year age difference, exchanged vows in front of 50 guests and 30 members of the press.
After the wedding, the “House Party” actress hinted at their intimate life, telling local media that they “had a very long wedding night—longer than the wedding day.”
Shortly after their nuptials, Lugner was hospitalized with severe back pain, which he attributed to his exercise bike. He required daily numbing injections from a pain specialist.
On July 12, his health took a turn for the worse, leading to an emergency admission to Vienna General Hospital due to a ruptured heart valve.
Following this health crisis, Lugner revealed that he had made arrangements for his funeral and ordered his tombstone, saying, “I wanted everything to be organized. My heirs should know what to do.”
He also noted that Reiländer had taken full control of his business operations. “My wife wears the pants now. She should support me actively. From now on, we will share my work,” he said, referring to her as the “sole boss” of his empire.
Lugner’s career took off after he opened Lugner City, Austria’s seventh-largest shopping center, in 1990, and he continued to expand his business from there. He made two attempts to run for Austrian president, first in 1998 and again in 2016.
In 2016, Lugner was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent radiotherapy in 2017. Three years later, he was diagnosed with skin cancer, which was surgically removed, though it returned in 2021, requiring another surgery.