The Billionaire P@Ssed Aw@Y At The Age Of 91 After Only 2 Months Of Marrying His 6th Wife Who Was 49 Years Younger. The Number He “Bought” For A Night With Many Female Celebrities Is Still A Mystery.***

Billionaire Richard Lugner – known for his extravagant lifestyle, many wives and glamourous dates with a-listers – has died at the age of 91 after suffering several health issues.

The construction tycoon and socialite, who made headlines for paying the world’s VIPs to attend Vienna’s annual Opera Ball, passed away in his Viennese villa on Monday, Austrian media reported.

Just a few weeks ago, Lugner married his sixth wife, 42-year-old actress Simone ‘Biene’ Reilaender – who was 49 years his junior – in a ceremony documented by 20 TV crews and photographers.

Lugner – nicknamed Mr Concrete – was notorious for the celebrity friends he was often seen partying with, with the billionaire reportedly paying six-figure sums to stars like Kim Kardashian, Geri Halliwell and Paris Hilton to be on his arm at the Opera Ball.

Since 1992, Lugner invited acting icons like Goldie Hawn, Joan Collins and Jane Fonda as a special guest for the event, with Fonda saying he paid her ‘quite a bit of money’ to attend.

Billionaire and construction tycoon Richard Lugner (pictured in 2018) has died at the age of 91

The Austrian entrepreneur, 91, memorably branded Kim Kardashian ‘annoying’ after she refused to dance with him and stormed out of the event after being paid $500,000 to attend as his date

Geri Halliwell attended the Vienna Opera Ball with Richard Lugner in February 2005, but declined to dance with the billionaire

Lugner had married just two months ago to Simone Reilaender, who is 49 years his junior (pictured: Lugner and Reilaender’s wedding in June)

Born in Vienna on October 11, 1932, Lugner quickly made a name for himself in the construction business by focusing on small-scale projects amid the 1960s building boom, according to APA news agency.

In 1975, Lugner landed his first major coup, when he was commissioned to build the Vienna Islamic Centre, Austria’s first and biggest mosque.

More than a decade later, he built his eponymous ‘Lugner City’ shopping centre.

The eccentric 91-year-old was an integral part of Vienna’s high society, with Lugner frequently dominating the headlines, including criticism he faced over his sexist comments.

A fan of the limelight, Lugner had been inviting the world’s celebrities to the famous Vienna Opera Ball since 1992, most recently bringing Priscilla Presley to the event and dancing the night away with the former wife of Elvis Presley.

Sarah Ferguson attended the Opera Ball with Lugner in 1997, after he paid her a fee said to be between $50,000 and $150,000

More former guests of Lugner include celebrities like Sophia Loren, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Jane Fonda – who attended last year’s event -, Geri Halliwell and Joan Collins.

American actress Fonda said she accepted the Austrian building tycoon’s invitation to attend the Vienna Opera Ball because he offered to ‘pay me quite a bit of money.’

While the amount the tycoon paid his guests of honour has mostly remained a closely guarded secret, he seized on the opportunity to promote his brand and made sure to invite at least one star per year to the ball.

One of the star guests Lugner invited to the Opera Ball was Kim Kardashian, who he famously called ‘annoying’ after she and her mother Kris Jenner attended as his double date to the bash in 2014.

Richard Lugner and Priscilla Presley dance during the Vienna Opera Ball 2024 on February 8

U.S. actress Carmen Electra talks to reporters as her host Austrian businessman Richard Lugner listens during the traditional Opera Ball, on Thursday, February 23, 2006

Lugner is pictured above dancing with Moroccan-born pole dancer Karima El Mahroug, who was his guest at the Vienna Opera Ball in March 2011

Pamela Anderson was paid to be Lugner’s guest to the 2003 Vienna Opera Ball

Paris Hilton is pictured at the Vienna Opera Ball 2007 with host Richard Lugner

Sarah Ferguson attended the Opera Ball with Lugner in 1997, after he paid her a fee said to be between $50,000 and $150,000

Model Elle MacPherson and Austrian businessman Richard Lugner attend the Opera Ball in Vienna, Austria, together in 2019

Actress Joan Collins and Austrian construction manager Richard Lugner, who invited her to Vienna to attend the Opera Ball in 1993

Italian movie star Sophia Loren (left) and her host, Austrian building contractor Richard Lugner, are all smiles as they arrive in the State Opera for the annual Opera Ball, February 23 1995

US actress Priscilla Presley (left) and Austrian entrepreneur Richard Lugner react during a photo call on February 8, 2024, in Vienna, Austria, where she was the guest of honor at this year’s Opera Ball at the Vienna State Opera

Jane Fonda attended the Opera Ball in 2023 on Lugner’s arm and said the billionaire paid her ‘quite a bit of money’ to do so

Richard Lugner invited legendary actress Goldie Hawn to the 2017 Vienna Opera Ball

Austrian businessman Richard Lugner, right, dances with Italian actress Ornella Muti on the dance floor during the traditional Opera Ball in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020

Kim claimed she fled the event because she was reportedly offended following a reported racial slur from a guest.

After the ball, Lugner – nicknamed Concrete due to his roots in the building trade -claimed the star would not dance with him despite being paid a jaw-dropping $500,000 (nearly £400,000).

But Kim insisted she was approached by a white male who was working at the event in ‘blackface’ and began to mimic her then-fiancé Kanye West, which was why she ran away.

Despite calling the Vienna Ball ‘super glamorous’, Kim admitted she had been already suffering anxiety largely because the event was ‘super claustrophobic’.

Lugner has been married six times, with the ups and downs of his turbulent love life being regularly reported on as he was keen to open up about it.

In 1961, Lugner got married to Christine Gmeiner and their union lasted until 1978.

He then married Cornelia Laufersweiler in 1979, but got swiftly divorced four years later in 1983.

His wedding to his third wife, Susanne Dietrich, followed a year later, with the couple divorcing in 1989.

Lugner was married to his fourth wife, Christina Lugner, from 1990 to 2007, before tying the knot with his fifth wife, Playboy Bunny Cathy Schmitz, in 2014. The couple with a 57-year age difference got divorced just 809 days later in 2016.

Austrian entrepreneur Richard Lugner and his then girlfriend Bambi attend the 17th Life Ball in Vienna late on May 16, 2009

Richard Lugner and his then-wife Christina Lugner with their daughter Jacqueline Lugner in 1997

Lugner is pictured above with now-wife Simone at a film premiere in Salzburg in 2021

Lugner celebrated his 91th birthday with a film-themed cake in Vienna

Christina Lugner, Richard Lugner and daughter Jacqueline Lugner pose during the ‘Wish Upon’ premiere in Vienna at Lugner Lounge Kino on July 25, 2017 in Vienna

Richard Lugner and his son Andreas attended a film premiere in Salzburg together in 2019

Richard Lugner and his then-girlfriend Simone aka Bienchen (right) pose with his daughter Jacqueline Lugner an award ceremony in Austria in 2023

Lugner was married to his fourth wife, Christina Lugner, from 1990 to 2007, before tying the knot with his fifth wife, Playboy Bunny Cathy Schmitz, in 2014. They got divorced just 809 days later in 2016 (Cathy Schmitz and Richard Lugner pictured together in 2015)

Lugner and new wife Simone are pictured above at their wedding in June

The billionaire announced his relationship with Simone Reilaender in 2021 and the couple got married in front of 50 guests June this year – just weeks before his death.

Lugner had four children: Alexander and Andreas Lugner, from his first marriage, Nadine Jeannine Cutter from his relationship with actress Sonja Jeannine, and Jacqueline Lugner from his fourth marriage.

During the late 1990s, Lugner first dabbled in politics, winning almost 10 percent of the presidential vote in Austria in 1998.

In 2016, he ran for president for a second time, but finished last, securing just over two percent.

Last month Lugner was treated for a ruptured heart valve at the Vienna General Hospital and was reportedly suffering several health problems recently.

It followed several cancer diagnoses. In 2016, Lugner announced that he had prostate cancer, which he managed to defeat after several months of radiotherapy.

He was then diagnosed with skin cancer in 2020 and the disease returned in 2021 after he underwent surgery following both diagnoses.

Lugner’s cause of death has not yet been revealed.