The Red Bull Story: The Unbelievable Success of Dietrich Mateschitz and His Energy Drink Empire

by Wolfgang Fürweger

Genres: Business, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2025

About the author

Wolfgang Fürweger, geboren 1971, lebt und arbeitet als Zeitungsjournalist in Wien und Salzburg. Er hat bereits mehrere Biografien bei Ueberreuter veröffentlicht, u. a. „Ferdinand Piëch. Automanager des Jahrhunderts“ und „Hans Peter Haselsteiner“. Sein historisches Buch „Verbrannte Kindheit“ wurde mit dem Wissenschaftsbuchpreis des Jahres 2015 ausgezeichnet.

Reviews

[Tab Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author tells a story of getting invited to Hangar 7 and meeting Mateschitz, who immediately called the book a catastrophe and kicked Furweger out of the building. I cannot help but agree.

This reads like a high school student writing a business profile for the first time. There is no depth or soul in this book. There are some interesting facts and figures, but the essence of Red Bull, Mateschitz, the empire, and its expansion is totally lost. Yes, they call out Red Bull as a marketing company, but you don't get a sense of the man or the company. Insofar as an expose this epically failed.

My biggest takeaway revolves around David Senra's genius. He managed to take this book and make a fascinating, 40 minute podcast that was riveting, compelling, interesting, and full of learnings. If you think you can do what Senra does, read this book, think about the episode you would make, and then listen to his.

[Jake Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book to be poorly written, many instances of poorly done research, and overly biased, but I enjoyed reading the preliminary biography of Dietrich Mateschitz and appreciate the investigative work of the author on such a secretive person.