The 91-year-old died in his villa in Döbling. Richard Lugner was an indispensable part of Viennese society. He was always talked about, especially by the star guests he brought to the Opera Ball every year for a lot of money.
Lugner ran the “Lugner City” shopping and cinema centre in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, which was named after him, and even ran for Federal President. In recent months, the master builder had increasingly struggled with health problems.
Photo gallery: From “Bambi” to “Zebra”: Richard Lugner and the women
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Richard Lugner was born on October 11, 1932 in Vienna. After graduating from high school in 1953, he soon entered the construction industry – and quickly proved his great cleverness. While the large companies were fighting each other over major contracts during the construction boom of the 1960s, the young Lugner specialized in small construction sites. The master builder landed his first big coup in 1975, when he was commissioned by the then Saudi Arabian King Faisal ibn al-Aziz to build the Vienna Mosque in Floridsdorf, the first such building in all of Austria.
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In 1988, Richard Lugner bought a plot of land directly on the Vienna Gürtel, not far from the town hall in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, for 14 million schillings. His plan: to build his own shopping center, “Lugner City”. Today, “Lugner City” is one of the most successful shopping centers in the country.
But Richard Lugner became famous less for his work as a builder than for his annual appearances at the Vienna Opera Ball. With his star guests, the builder caused a flurry of camera flashes, fights on the red carpet, exasperated organizers and, of course, a lot of attention for himself and his city.
Photo gallery: Richard Lugner’s Opera Ball guests
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In his private life, Lugner was married a total of six times and was often surrounded by young, publicity-loving ladies, whom he gave animal nicknames. The most famous of his wives was Christina “Mausi” Lugner, whom he married on July 13, 1991. On August 2, 2007, the couple divorced after many appearances together. It was not until June 2024 that Lugner married for the sixth time; his bride was Simone Reiländer, alias “Bienchen”. Lugner had a total of four children, but they all stayed away from the public eye as much as possible.
Lugner also tried his hand at politics
Richard Lugner will probably be remembered above all as a socialite and master builder. But the entrepreneur, who died today at the age of 91, also tried his hand at politics in his old age. Lugner ran for the office of Federal President twice, and at least once he was quite successful. Founding a party was not exactly sustainable.
Photo gallery: Richard Lugner – a life in the spotlight
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Politically, Lugner was definitely more to the right of center. In recent years, he had connections mainly with the Freedom Party. This year he attended the controversial “Academic Ball” with the Third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ). But representatives of all colors were welcome guests in his Lugner City. For many years, the shopping center in Vienna’s 15th district served as the venue for the final appearances of the top candidates or their representatives before major elections.
Photo gallery: The “best” sayings by Richard Lugner
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The entrepreneur first became politically active in the 1990s. Lugner ran for the Federal Presidential election in 1998 and secured 9.9 percent of the vote. Driven by the surprising success, Lugner founded the “The Independents” party with his then wife Christina and wanted to enter the National Council. The success was modest. One percent of the vote was nowhere near enough for a seat in parliament.
Lugner’s political candidacies also always served as PR for his business activities, especially those of Lugner City. It was in this context that most observers saw his renewed candidacy for the Hofburg in 2016. This time, only 2.3 percent of voters were in favor of Lugner as Federal President. He then ended his relevant commitments.
The fact that the name Lugner remains on the political stage is thanks to the builder’s son-in-law. FP politician Leo Kohlbauer took the name Lugner after marrying Lugner’s daughter Jacqueline.
“Mausi”: “He was the man of my life”
Christina “Mausi” Lugner was deeply shocked on Monday when she heard of the death of her ex-husband and still very close friend Richard Lugner. “He was the man of my life,” said Lugner, who was married to the construction and socialite from 1991 to 2007, in an interview with the APA. “I owe him so much. The greatest gift he gave me is our daughter (Jacqueline, note).”
“We spoke on the phone yesterday. He reprimanded me because I was supposed to give the laudation for his birthday (his 92nd in October),” said Christina Lugner. She was supposed to shoo the photographers away from the podium during the speech because otherwise the guests wouldn’t see anything. “And then he told me what he would like to see in the speech.”
“I learned so much from him, he relied on me and put his trust in me,” said “Mausi.” As an example, she cited the partial purchase of the radio station “Radio CD” broadcasting from Bratislava, which he acquired because of her affinity for presenting. “‘You’ll learn it,’ he told me. He always believed in me,” recalled Christina Lugner.
