Billionaire who paid $500,000 to Kim Kardashian to be his date dies at the age of 91

Richard Lugner, a billionaire in Austria, has died at the age of 91. He was reportedly battling several health problems in recent months and underwent heart surgery. He has four children.

Lugner was known for hosting global celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Sophia Loren, Jane Fonda, Pamela Anderson and Goldie Hawn at the iconic Opera Ball in Austria’s capital city of Vienna.

The socialite and construction tycoon died in his Viennese villa on Monday, Austrian media reported, with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on X hailing the “successful” construction magnate as a “vibrant… Austrian original” who stayed “true to himself”.

Two months ago, Lunger married for the sixth time. He married a 42-year-old woman, Simone Reilander, on June 1. “It will be the last marriage,” he had said at that time, PEOPLE reported, quoting a local media report.

Billionaire paid Kim Kardashian for a date

In 2014, Lunger paid $500,000 to have Kim Kardashian as his date for his annual Vienna Opera Ball, according to a Page Six report. “Kim is annoying me, because she’s not sticking to the program,” Lunger had said. He paid Lindsay Lohan $150,000 to be his date for the 2010 Vienna Opera Ball, according to the report.

He brought Priscilla Presley, ex-wife of Elvis Presley, to the latest event.

Lunger’s brush with politics

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

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

Richard Lugner, who was born in Vienna on October 11, 1932, built his “Lugner City” shopping centre in Vienna. The centre paid tribute to the businessman after his death.

He was an integral part of Vienna’s high society, with Lugner frequently dominating the headlines, including criticism he faced over his sexist comments.