“Eco Spezial” about “Benko’s fall: how his empire collapses”

2023-11-29 12:05:07

On November 30th at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2

Vienna (OTS) – René Benko’s real estate and trading empire is going fast these days: Signa Holding has filed for bankruptcy, but wants to continue after restructuring. Whether this will succeed is extremely questionable. Dieter Bornemann will present the “Eco Spezial” edition “Benko’s Fall: how his empire collapses” designed by Bettina Fink, Johannes Schwitzer-Fürnsinn and Lisa Lind on Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2:

Benkos Signa is in financial difficulties and urgently needs money. Hundreds of millions. The company is struggling with interest rate increases and the loss of value of buildings. But the confidence of investors and banks has been shaken. Construction stops on prestige projects such as the Elbtower in Hamburg and Signa projects in Berlin and Munich have already caused a political and media stir in recent weeks. Benko himself had to withdraw from Signa due to pressure from investors. A renovator should now save what can be saved.

Is this the final end of real estate guru René Benko? For years he was considered one of the largest, most prominent and probably richest real estate entrepreneurs in the German-speaking world. He and his company Signa own prestigious buildings such as the Chrysler Building in New York, the famous KaDeWe department store in Berlin, the Karstadt retail chain, an entire mountain in South Tyrol, luxury hotels and parts of the Golden Quarter in Vienna. But everything that can be sold has long since been sold. Little by little, Benko’s empire is shrinking. Will his real estate empire collapse now?