“Society Lion”, “Martel” and “Mr. Opera Ball”: Master builder Richard Lüchner has always been Austria’s number one It Boy. He died on Monday at the age of 91.
Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Sophia Loren, Jane Fonda: When Richard Lukner invited people to the opera ball, A-list celebrities flew in and Austria’s media stood and made fools of themselves.
Although men also danced for him at the opera ball, Lugner preferred to surround himself with sweet femininity – his first guests in 1992 included Harry Belafonte and Dieter Pollan (2010) and “James Bond” Roger Moore (2012).
However, in 2004 he rejected the suggestion of his then-wife Christina “Mousy”, calling George Clooney “a beautiful woman who belongs at an opera ball – and not a classy man.”
A zoo full of “animals”.
“Mausi”, “Katzi”, “Spatzi” – in his personal life, born in Vienna in 1932, gathered around him a “zoo” of women. Apart from his six wives, his companions – also known through Luckner’s own reality TV show. Lukner’s “Little Animals” The alpha animal at the main Baumeister zoo is his ex-wife Christina “Mousy” Luchner, with whom he was married from 1991 to 2007, with whom he had a daughter, Jacqueline (born 1993). Christina was the fourth of six wives at the builder’s side.
The master builder ended his last marriage at the age of 91 in a flash of light in Vienna’s town hall. Simone “Piensen” Reilander is 49 years younger. “Great,” said the husband shortly after saying yes. He died two months later.
“Only One Love”
In love, Lukner revealed to “Kron” in the 90s – he was with fiance number 6 for years, but he was only there once. “Only my first wife built everything with me.” He married Christine Gmeiner in 1961, with whom he has sons Richard Alexander and Siegfried Andreas. The couple divorced in 1978.
Builder of gas stations and temples
Richard Siegfried Lugner was born on October 11, 1932. A A self-made manHe became a great builder because he did what others despised. He built gas stations and renovated old buildings in Vienna at a time when others looked down on dusty old cottages and wanted to shine with new architecture. At a time when a highway through the middle of the city was considered the pinnacle of modernization.
When competitors slowly realized that Wilhelminian-style houses were not yesterday’s news, Lukner was already the market leader in this segment.
“Gemma Peace”
Valuable objects followed: Lukner was built Vienna’s largest mosque on the Danube and renovated the city temple in the city, houses for Freemasons and the Greek Orthodox church in Fleischmarkt. A project that made his Lukner City in the 15th arrondissement a popular conversation piece. “Gemma Lukner,” young people today still shout when they feel bored. Today there are even merchandise with this saying.
In 2003, the construction company avoided bankruptcy – after months of wrangling, banks stepped in at the last minute with a cash injection worth millions. His main creditor, then-Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Kraser, forgave the crumbling motor empire 1.8 million in tax debts, as the “News” wrote at the time. Lugner withdrew from the construction business, and his sons, who had previously been employed by him, became self-employed as building contractors.
Lugner for President
Bilder ran for office twice Office of the Federal President. In 1998 he achieved Almost 10 percent of the votesHe finished fourth out of five candidates. In the ensuing National Council elections, his party “Independents” was punished by voters with 1.02 percent of the vote.
Lugner made a second attempt at the federal presidential election in 2016 – the second as the oldest candidate of the republic. This time the result was disappointing: only 2.26 percent wanted to see him at the Hofburg. People always liked him very well at the State Opera.
“Hard Work Punch”
Later, “Mörtel” even achieved academic honors, albeit indirectly. A thesis was written about Luckner in 2009: Richard ‘Martel’ Luckner and the Secret of His Prominence. According to a survey cited in it, Lugner was in favor of half “Awkward Old Man”to the other “Smart, hard-working Punch and Judy”. One thing is clear: Lugner has turned his name into a brand and is not above doing anything else.
Austria’s most important IT guy
Lugner spent the last decade of his life as Austria’s most famous IT guy between the ATV reality show and the opera ball. “He rose to prominence because he defined himself as important,” says “Kron” columnist Karin Schnechter in “The Mortar Story,” Lukner’s biography by Andrea Bude.
His biggest achievement – even before Lukner City – he managed to convince Austria of this too. His fame extended far beyond the borders of the Alpine Republic.
