René Benko has been costing a lot of money in recent years by the services of two former Austrian Chancellors: in total, the two former government leaders Alfred Gusenbauer (63) and Sebastian Kurz (37) supplied the financial juggler Signa Group for a period of one year . relatively manageable period around ten million euros.
The fees, which “News” first reported in a cover series, are also available to “Krone.” You look and are amazed. See facsimiles below.
But what did the two former bosses of Ballhausplatz do for this? As recently announced, Alfred Gusenbauer moved to the empire of real estate speculator Benko immediately after his departure from the top government on December 2, 2008.
The insolvency advisor
On December 23, 2008, Benko and Gusenbauer signed an agreement for which Gusenbauer would receive a gross annual salary of 280,000 euros from February 2009 – but he no longer had to do this around the clock, but only work for Benko one week a week. every month.
Particularly noteworthy are Gusenbauer’s fees for services in the period 2020 to 2022: his project company invoiced Signa Holding, in which Benkos Foundation and Hans-Peter Haselsteiner are the largest shareholders, a total of more than seven million euros. Including advice on the bankruptcy of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. As reported, Signa Holding went bankrupt on Tuesday.
The jet setter
Such salaries could make a younger former chancellor green with envy. Sebastian Kurz, who as head of government ‘only’ earned a gross monthly salary of more than 22,000 euros per month, submitted three invoices for a total of almost three million euros to a company called Signa Lima through his SK Management GmbH in September 2023.
Including sales tax of course. Kurz should not only fly with Benko to the Arab region in 2023, but also act as a door opener for investors in Europe. However, the invoices were only partially paid by the financially ailing Signa Group.
Yet one thing is certain: the two former chancellors from small Austria are certainly among the European champions when it comes to cashing in on their golden telephone books.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
