BUSINESSPEOPLE from Austria

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Austrian Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Austrian Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Dietrich Mateschitz (1944 - 2022)

With an HPI of 67.01, Dietrich Mateschitz is the most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Dietrich Markwart Eberhart Mateschitz (German: [ˈdiːtʁɪç ˈmaːtəʃɪts]; 20 May 1944 – 22 October 2022) was an Austrian billionaire businessman. He was the co-founder and 49% owner of Red Bull GmbH. In April 2022, Mateschitz's net worth was estimated at US$27.4 billion.Mateschitz worked in marketing for Unilever and Blendax. While travelling in Thailand, he discovered the drink Krating Daeng, which he adapted into Red Bull. He founded Red Bull GmbH in 1984 and launched it in Austria in 1987. His company acquired or founded several sports teams around the world, including six-time Constructors' Champions Red Bull Racing and sister team AlphaTauri in Formula One, and association football teams including FC Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

2. Mercédès Jellinek (1889 - 1929)

With an HPI of 63.80, Mercédès Jellinek is the 2nd most famous Austrian Businessperson.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Mercédès Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek (16 September 1889 – 23 February 1929) was the daughter of Austrian automobile entrepreneur Emil Jellinek and his first wife Rachel Goggmann Cenrobert. She was born in Vienna. She is best known for her father having Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's line of Mercedes cars named after her, beginning with the Mercedes 35 hp model of 1901.In addition, her father hung a large picture of her at the 1902 Paris Automobile exhibition. He even legally changed his name to Jellinek-Mercedes in 1903 after Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft registered Mercedes as a trademark in 1902. Mercedes is a Spanish female name meaning mercies (Spanish: merced f sg, "mercy", mercedes f pl, "mercies").

3. Ferdinand Piëch (1937 - 2019)

With an HPI of 62.04, Ferdinand Piëch is the 3rd most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Ferdinand Karl Piëch (German pronunciation: [ˈfɛʁdinant ˈpiːɛç] ; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (Vorstandsvorsitzender) of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of the supervisory board (Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender) of Volkswagen Group in 2002–2015.A grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, Piëch started his career at Porsche, before leaving for Audi after an agreement that no member of the Porsche or Piëch families should be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Porsche company. Piëch eventually became the head of Audi, where he is credited with evolving and growing Audi into a competitor to equal Mercedes-Benz and BMW, thanks in part to innovative designs such as the Quattro and 100. In 1993, Piëch became the chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group, which he is credited with turning into the large conglomerate it is today; He oversaw the purchase of Lamborghini and Bentley, as well as the founding of Bugatti Automobiles, all of which he integrated with the Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT and Audi brands into a ladder-type structure similar to that used by Alfred Sloan at General Motors. Piëch was required to retire at age 65 per Volkswagen company policy, but he remained on its supervisory board and was involved in the company's strategic decisions until his resignation on 25 April 2015.Educated as an engineer, Piëch influenced the development of numerous significant cars including the Porsche 911, Porsche 917, Audi Quattro and notably, the Bugatti Veyron, which as of 2012 was the fastest, most powerful and most expensive road legal automobile ever built. Due to his influence on the automobile industry, Piëch was named the Car Executive of the Century in 1999 and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2014.

4. Giovanni Battista Caproni (1886 - 1957)

With an HPI of 59.64, Giovanni Battista Caproni is the 4th most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Giovanni Battista Caproni, 1st Count of Taliedo (July 3, 1886 – October 27, 1957), known as "Gianni" Caproni, was an Italian aeronautical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, and aircraft designer who founded the Caproni aircraft-manufacturing company.

5. Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (1909 - 1998)

With an HPI of 58.42, Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche is the 5th most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (19 September 1909 – 27 March 1998), mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. His father, Ferdinand Porsche Sr. was also a renowned automobile engineer and founder of Volkswagen and Porsche. His nephew, Ferdinand Piëch, was the longtime chairman of Volkswagen Group, and his son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, was involved in the design of the 911. Ferry Porsche's life was intimately connected with that of his father, Ferdinand Porsche Sr., who began sharing his knowledge of mechanical engineering already in his childhood. With his father he opened a bureau of automobile design, in Stuttgart in 1931. The Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche Sr. and a team of engineers, including Ferry Porsche. After World War II, while his father remained imprisoned in France being accused of war crimes, Ferry Porsche ran their company. Aided by the postwar Volkswagen enterprise, he created the first cars that were uniquely associated with the company. Despite the political-economical adversities of the postwar years, the company manufactured automobiles and, eventually, became a major sports car manufacturer.

6. Franz Josef Popp (1886 - 1954)

With an HPI of 51.18, Franz Josef Popp is the 6th most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Franz Josef Popp (14 January 1886 in Vienna – 29 July 1954 in Stuttgart) was one of three men responsible for the founding of BMW AG and the First General Director of BMW AG from 1922 to 1942. A number of different candidates have been put forward as the “founders” of BMW AG. In the absence of Karl Rapp, Gustav Otto, Max Friz or Camillo Castiglioni the company would probably never have been born. However, Franz Josef Popp can lay claim to being the prime force in the development of the mobility company we know today. He was “General Director” of the company from its foundation until he was forced to relinquish his position in 1942.

7. Toto Wolff (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 51.12, Toto Wolff is the 7th most famous Austrian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Torger Christian "Toto" Wolff (German pronunciation: [volf], born 12 January 1972) is an Austrian billionaire motorsport executive, investor and former racing driver. He holds a 33% stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and is Team Principal and CEO of the team. Wolff began his motorsport career in the Austrian Formula Ford Championship and the German Formula Ford Series. He won his category in the 1994 24 Hours Nürburgring and later competed in the FIA GT Championship and Italian GT Championship. As an investor, Wolff founded Marchfifteen in 1998 and Marchsixteen Investments in 2004, initially focusing on Internet and technology companies. He specialises in strategic investments in medium-sized industrial and listed companies, which have included Williams F1 and German HWA AG.