The private man behind the successful brand

An email was sent out to the 15,500 Red Bull employees in 175 countries. It informed them that Dietrich Mateschitz had died.

- PROSENJIT DATTA

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, an email was sent out to the 15,500 Red Bull employees in 175 countries. It informed them that Dietrich Mateschitz had died. The mail was signed by Dietrich's family, relatives, friends, and closest associates. This was the public acknowledgement the founder and driving force behind the Red Bull empire was dead.

The only issue, as Wolfgang Furweger points out, was that some outsiders, who kept close track of Red Bull and its founder, had heard strong rumors in end-August that Mateschitz had passed away from cancer. However, the Red Bull management kept a studied silence, refusing to give out any information. Probably only a few people closest to him know when Mateschitz actually died. Officially, the date was October 22—even if he had died earlier.

The friends and associates of Mateschitz were probably maintaining what he himself practiced. The creator of the Red Bull empire had a strong aversion to media attention, and his death would not change that. The Red Bull story by Mr. Furweger is not a new book. It was first published as hard cover in 2008 in German, and then updated a few times before a paperback was released in 2012. It was a bestseller in Germany and Austria, and was translated into many languages. The English translation was by Anthony Raymond and the current edition (in English) was released this year, after updating it with a chapter (written in December 2024), which deals with Mateschitz's death and the succession.