Richard “Mörtel” Lugner stands for three things in particular: his “Lugner-City” shopping center, the Vienna Opera Ball and changing female acquaintances. That doesn’t change now that he’s turning 90. He still has plans, both in terms of the ball and in terms of relationships.
A gala dinner, a circus premiere, a champagne celebration, in the beer tent at the Oktoberfest – when Richard “Mörtel” Lugner looks back on the past few days, his conclusion is: “I was only very rarely at home.” The Austrian society lion, best known for his visits to the Vienna Opera Ball with prominent Hollywood accompaniment, looks tidy and fresh around his 90th birthday this Tuesday.
He also needs the condition for the festive day, on which he invites around 200 guests to the ceremonial hall of the Vienna Hofburg. “The little animals are all invited too,” he says, referring to his companions, some of whom have been with him for many years, to whom he has given nicknames – not exactly contemporary – like Mausi, Bambi, Wildsau, Katzi, Goldfisch, Hummingbird, Käfer and Spatzi.
The women’s issue is far from over for him. He is currently single, but longs for contact, says Lugner. At least 40 years old, a little older would be even better – and she should be from the greater Vienna area. “I do not want any distance.” In his own words, he learned from his earlier connections. “I think I need to take care of myself a little more.”
Anyway: Lugner seems attractive to many women – even under 40 years of age. He gets a lot of emails with offers, he says. But first of all he is waiting for the magic of the moment and has arranged unaccompanied nights out. “Otherwise nobody speaks to me.” He himself, who has been married five times so far, is not a daredevil anyway.
Lugner knows no fear of contact when dealing with the media. The trained master builder leaves little stone unturned to make the headlines. During his recent trip to Paris and Morocco for a private Austrian broadcaster (“Lugner im Orient”) and in the company of various women, he openly talked about his toilet problems. “I was disturbed in my business five times,” he recalled to the newspaper “heute” of a toilet door that could not be locked at Paris airport.
He is also rightly described as a reality TV star: for twelve seasons, his more or less glamorous life was illuminated in “The Lugners” on the ATV station.
There is a method to all of this. Every headline, every minute of broadcasting advertises his shopping center in Vienna, the “Lugner City” with around 120 shops and restaurants. “It is perhaps the only center that bears the name of its founder,” says the father of four. Business was good, all the more reason to celebrate 32 years of “Lugner-City” on his birthday. The mall is managed by his family private foundation.
The cinema with its eleven halls, which belongs entirely to him, is unfortunately not very successful. “It’s going catastrophically. I’ve never made any money with it,” said Lugner. It can’t be because of his workload. On the advice of the doctor, he now comes to the office at ten o’clock instead of nine o’clock. “It will still be 40 to 50 hours every week.”
After two years in which the opera ball was canceled due to Corona, Lugner’s prospects for the next edition on February 16, 2023 are all the more gratifying. “I’ve already reserved a box. No longer in the 2nd tier, but further down – closer to the dance floor.”
Who will accompany him will be decided during these days. His agency gave him a suggested list of seven women. Together with his daughter Jacqueline (“She reads the glossy magazines”) he will then decide who he will have by his side at Austria’s top social event next year. Most recently, the Italian actress Ornella Muti was his companion in 2020 – after stars like Brooke Shields, Elle Macpherson or Pamela Anderson.
In his own words, Lugner has at least two recipes to thank for the fact that he is in good shape in old age. “You should be positive and happy.” And: “I don’t talk about illnesses.”
