Austrian billionaire, 84, famous for paying famous women to dance with him in Vienna, divorces his 26-year-old Playboy bunny wife after just two years of marriage
- Richard Lugner wed German TV presenter and Cathy Schmitz in 2014
- He had previously sworn off marriage forever after his fourth divorce
- The separation is said to be amicable, with Lugner saying that he had enjoyed 'a beautiful time with Cathy'
Austrian billionaire Richard Lugner has divorced his fifth wife after just two years of marriage.
Richard Lugner, 84, wed German TV presenter and former Playboy model Cathy Schmitz, 26, in September 2014, after a brief courtship that lasted just seven months.
He had previously sworn off marriage forever after his fourth divorce, but he admitted that Cathy managed to change his mind.
Lugner — nicknamed ‘Concrete’ due to his roots in the building trade — made a name for himself after he famously spent years bribing glamorous and usually busty female celebrities to be his companion at the glittering Vienna Opera Ball.
Richard Lugner, 84, wed German TV presenter and former Playboy model Cathy Schmitz, 26, in September 2014
Since the cheesy tradition started in 1991 with the voluptuous Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, she was followed during the Nineties by Joan Collins, Sophia Loren, Raquel Welch, Grace Jones, Faye Dunaway and even Sarah, Duchess of York.
The following decade saw Jacqueline Bisset, Farrah Fawcett, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell take the Austrian’s not ungenerous schillings.
More recent guests include actress Carmen Electra, and Moroccan-born pole dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed 'Ruby the Heart Stealer' - the woman at the center of former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's 'bunga-bunga party' sex-for-hire scandal.
The separation is said to be amicable, with Lugner saying that he had enjoyed 'a beautiful time with Cathy'
The fee reportedly rose as high as $500,000 when he paid reality TV phenomenon Kim Kardashian to attend in 2014, and this year he paid actress Brooke Shields to be his date - despite being married to Cathy.
The couple started dating in February 2014, were engaged in the August and married a month later.
The separation is said to be amicable, with Lugner saying that he had enjoyed 'a beautiful time with Cathy' and that he didn't want a 'War of the Roses', according to The Local.
He had previously sworn off marriage forever after his fourth divorce, but he admitted that Cathy managed to change his mind
Richard Luger attended the Opera Ball with new wife Cathy in February 2005
According to reports in local news, the couple's divorce is set to be finalised on Wednesday by the Viennese district court.
As it is a consensual separation it is due to be dissolved quickly, as both partners would simply appear in court and sign the divorce papers.
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell took the Austrian billionnaire’s not ungenerous schillings to come with him to the Opera Ball
Richard Lugner reportedly paid his highest fee of $500,000 to have Kim Kardashian attend as his date
Cathy, who took Lugner's name, is now said to be using Cathy Schmitz again.
The former Playboy bunny was trying to make her name as TV presenter in Germany before she crossed paths with the billionaire, and has, since her marriage, appeared on the Austrian version of Celebrity Big Brother.
She is reportedly also in talks about appearing in Germany's Jungle Camp show - inspired by the British TV show I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
It has not been a good year for the billionaire, who just a few weeks ago was officially confirmed to be suffering from prostate cancer. He is said to be undergoing radiation therapy.
Previous guests at the Opera Ball include actress Carmen Electra, left, and Moroccan-born pole dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed 'Ruby the Heart Stealer', right
Speaking after the couple wed, Lugner said he was still very fearful that his new wife is more interested in his bank balance than his personality, saying: 'I am always worried. Ladies are very dangerous - to be married is dangerous. '(But) I like to fight with the young ladies. It's better for me.'
Exactly what she is will receive in the divorce settlement has not been revealed, but according to German media Cathy will be allowed to keep her Porsche Boxter, and a house outside Vienna.
It has also been suggested that she will receive a monthly alimony payment.
The construction entrepreneur this year put his name forward as Austrian president, saying that he was inspired by Donald Trump, and thought his former Playboy bunny wife would be a perfect First Lady.
His political career was less successful than Trump's, and he was eliminated in the first round.
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