Benko, Kurz & Co.: The world of “Wunderwuzzis” and the “Friendly Economy”

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This is a special human species and can mostly be found in the wild in our neighboring country, Austria: the “Wunderwuzzi”. The term originally comes from the Viennese word “Wurschtl-Prater”, meaning mercenary. In other words, he is someone who tries to create his own luck even with strangers’ money and trusts in this streak of luck. Overall, “Wunderwuzzi” is a versatile person and is also blessed with special talents. What many have in common is that they are admired and respected for their style and business acumen, while others like to enjoy their own victories as long as everything goes well. Because most of the time, a steep rise is followed by a sudden decline.

The most recent example: fallen Tyrolean real estate tycoon René Benko (46), who sets out to make his fortune in the Vienna metropolis. And Signa Holding filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. Benko is said to have earned his first shilling million (about 125,000 francs) at the age of 20. He was a 40-year-old Euro billionaire and, until a few days ago, one of the richest men in Austria. When Benko invited him to Törggelen, a kind of South Tyrolean harvest festival with lots of meat and wine, everyone came: the republic’s rich, famous and powerful. Everyone was intoxicated by the real estate mogul’s success.

“There is no awareness of injustice”

And it was always the Wunderwuzzis’ class reunion. Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (37) and former Finance Minister Karl Heinz Grasser (54) were also seen at the social event of the year. Both political stars enjoyed a brilliant rise through the ranks of power before becoming embroiled in various incidents and finding themselves embroiled in lengthy legal proceedings and investigations.

Is this incident specific to Austria? Star advertiser Frank Bodin (61), who worked for several years in our neighboring country during his tenure, tells Blick about the “Friendly economy” rather than the “Wunderwuzzis”: “The separation of politics and business is rare in Austria.” Vienna Private and commercial aspects are handled very nicely in . “An Austrian’s denial that ‘Freunderlwirtschaft’ is a local thing actually describes this phenomenon quite well,” explains Bodin. And he explains: “There is zero point zero awareness of injustice in the environment. “It’s completely normal to do favors for each other and then pay it forward privately.”

Speaking of private: in Switzerland such scenarios are unthinkable due to compliance regulations, while in Austria “deals are made publicly”. “We had the most beautiful meeting rooms back then,” Bodin recalls, “but people met in Vienna’s three fanciest coffee houses.” Or in Törggelen.

Are the “Wunderwuzzis” frauds?

There is another welcome guest here: investor Ronny Pecik (61), who tried to shake up the Swiss industry after the turn of the millennium and invested in traditional companies such as OC Oerlikon, Sulzer and Ascom. And it quickly drew the ire of other investors and regulators. A few years ago, the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” concluded that Pecik’s business life was constantly up and down and that “this is not surprising for a person with the characteristics of a fraudster.”

Entrepreneur, networker and convicted mass murderer Udo Proksch (1934 – 2001) is considered the archetype of the “Wunderwuzzi” era. He didn’t need a coffeehouse for his meetings; In the 1970s he bought the Demel sugar bakery and ran the private Club 45, a meeting place for senior politicians of the then powerful SPÖ. With the help of politicians, Proksch tried to cover up his role in the sinking of the cargo ship “Lucona” in 1977, in which six sailors died.

Source :Blick