235,000 euros a month

Benko may live in a villa, but mom has to pay

Mama Benko now has to pay the rent for the Benko villa. However, she is also one of the beneficiaries of Benko's Laura Private Foundation.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/EXPA/APA)

René Benko, officially a penniless bankrupt, continues to enjoy an expensive lifestyle. In addition to the hunting trips, which reportedly have serious consequences for his celebrity guests, Benko still lives in a luxurious property in Innsbruck-Igls. However, Mama Benko now has to pay the rent for the luxury home. 

The monthly rent for Benko's villa is an impressive 238,500 euros. Not unusual for such a property. But how does the supposedly penniless property juggler afford this life of luxury? In the case of his luxury home, the rent is paid by his mother, Ingeborg Benko. 

Officially owned by the foundation
The property is officially owned by a company belonging to Benko's Laura Private Foundation, which in turn leased it to Signa Holding, which went bankrupt at the end of November 2023. To build the villa, Benko had the former castle hotel demolished and the new building erected at a cost of around 60 million euros. 

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However, the property never belonged to Benko himself, but to Schlosshotel Igls Betriebs GmbH & Co KG, a company of the Laura Private Foundation named after his daughter. The foundation was set up by Benko and his mother; the beneficiaries are his mother, his wife and his children. This also explains why Mama Benko pays the rent for Junior. 

Rental agreement with Mama Benko
In September, the operating company concluded a retroactive rental agreement with Benko's mother for the Benko villa. The monthly net rent was fixed at 238,500 euros. This also includes the rent for the movable inventory in the amount of 57,000 euros. Although the rental agreement excludes the subletting or transfer of the villa, the transfer to beneficiaries of the Laura Private Foundation or their close relatives is permitted, reported the "Standard" on Thursday.

Signa Holding has paid a similar price since 2021. And the rental price is in any case "arm's length" if it is 3 to 5 percent of the invested capital. Corresponding decisions by the Administrative Court would prove this, it said.

In any case, the foundation does not lose any money as a result of the rental agreement. After all, part of the dividends paid to Benko's mother flow back into the foundation. A kind of perpetual motion machine in terms of rent.