Now he has wings – Red Bull boss Mateschitz passes after long illness

Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz has died aged 78. The Austrian billionaire, a hero in Thailand and patriarch of Red Bull’s Formula One team, had been battling a long-term illness.

Mateschitz was the driving force behind the transformation of Red Bull from a sketchy Thai energy drink to the global market leader in a sector which he created more or less on his own.

He used the fortune created by that to set up an F1 team that become one of the leading forces in the sport. Mateschitz lived to see Red Bull’s Max Verstappen clinch his second consecutive world title when the Dutch driver won the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Red Bull billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz cofounded the ubiquitous energy drink in 1987 with Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya. Chaleo’s son remains on the run for allegedly killing a police officer in a 2012 hit and run. Before Red Bull, Mateschitz was a marketing executive for German consumer products company Blendax, known for shampoos. He decided to go into the energy drink market after tasting Krating Daeng, another drink concocted by Chaleo.

The two partnered to create Red Bull and aggressively invested in marketing to make the brand synonymous with extreme feats. Red Bull sold 7.5 billion cans worldwide in 2019, enough to provide caffeine to more than 80% of the planet.

Speaking to Sky Sports before qualifying at the US Grand Prix on Saturday, moments after Mateschitz’s death was announced, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said…

“It’s very, very sad, what a great man. What he achieved and what he has done for so many people, around the world in different sports, is second to none.

“So many of us have to be so grateful to him for the opportunities he provided and the vision that he had, the strength of character and never being afraid to chase your dreams.

“That’s what he did here in Formula One, proving that you can make a difference. We’re just incredibly grateful.”

Mateschitz was born in Styria in May 1944 during World War II, the son of two primary school teachers. After obtaining a marketing degree aged 28 in 1972 – he had somehow managed to stretch his stint as a Vienna University student to a decade – he joined Unilever, initially promoting detergents. He then moved to the Blendax cosmetics company, where his products included toothpaste.

It was while travelling on business in Asia that he by chance discovered the drink that he would eventually launch in Europe as Red Bull, having founded the company with that name in 1984 in partnership with Blendax associate Chaleo. His initial investment was US$500,000 (around 12 million baht at the time).

From the very early days Mateschitz believed in extreme sports as promotional tools. His first foray into F1 came via a personal deal with Gerhard Berger, and then in 1995 he began working with the Sauber team, ultimately procuring 60% of the Swiss organisation.

Team boss Peter Sauber had a falling out with Mateschitz after hiring future world champion Kimi Raikkonen in 2001, ignoring Mateschitz choice of his protégé, Enrique Bernoldi. In 2004. the Ford Motor Company wanted to sell its Jaguar team and pull out of the sport. Mateschitz was happy to take over for a nominal sum, while at the same time parting ways with Sauber, and hiring Horner. At the end of 2005 Horner persuaded Adrian Newey to join as technical director – setting in motion an extraordinary turnaround in fortunes.

In 2007, Newey’s first proper Renault-powered car appeared and in 2009 Sebastian Vettel climbed into the cockpit winning four races that year, the start of an astonishing era of success as Vettel won four titles on the bounce in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

According to Forbes, Mateschitz was worth US$20.2 billion (770 billion baht) at that time of his death, No. 71 on the magazine’s rich list.