Oct 22, 2022
Dietrich Mateschitz: Red Bull co-owner & energy drink giant dies aged 78
Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, a major global business figure as a result of his energy drinks empire, has died aged 78. Austrian Mateschitz was a salesman for consumer goods company Procter & Gamble when he discovered Krating Daeng, the drink that would become Red Bull, on his travels in Thailand. In 1984, he founded Red Bull with the drink's founder, Thai Chaleo Yoovidhya, and launched the Red Bull brand in 1987, eventually turning it into the world's biggest energy drink and making himself a fortune estimated at $25bn. His involvement in F1 began with the Swiss-based Sauber team, of which Red Bull became a 60% shareholder, before the two parted company following a row over driver choice - Sauber signed the inexperienced Finn Kimi Raikkonen for his debut season in 2001, when Mateschitz wanted him to pick Red Bull protege Enrique Bernoldi. Three years later, Red Bull bought the failing Jaguar team from owner Ford and renamed it, employed ex-Formula 2 driver Christian Horner as team principal and signed the sport's leading design engineer Adrian Newey as technical director on a $10m salary.
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