“Everything that has happened lately is somehow creepy and mysterious.” This is how residents and hikers describe current events and processes around the Benko Villa in the Igls district of Innsbruck, high above the state capital in the low mountain range.
In the front garden of the 60 million euro villa, huge Christmas motifs light up in the evening, including extra-large deer. Inside the house, however, an oversized, glowing chandelier could sometimes be seen through the large windows at night; the next day the building is eerily dark again and appears completely uninhabited.
“I have no idea whether Mr. Benko still lives here”
“We have no idea whether Mr. Benko and his family still live here or whether he has moved to the other side of the city, where he supposedly owns a house or a villa,” residents emphasize. In the past, several cars reportedly left the property every day with some of the windows blacked out. The villa is also monitored by security almost 24 hours a day.
“Lately, however, you don’t see any security guards and cars don’t regularly drive through the extra-large entrance gate,” it says.
The multi-million dollar villa has now achieved ‘cult status’, although that is anything but positive. She is a kind of ‘object of desire’.
“Walkers often stop and ask whether this is actually Mr. Benko’s luxury villa or a hotel complex,” say residents, emphasizing: “The last thing we read in the media was that it was supposedly a hotel, where only Benko and his family live . . That’s very strange. But apparently there is nothing that does not exist,” a passerby shakes his head while checking out of the “Krone” restaurant.
And adds: “I would like to have a tour of the house sometime. This villa is said to have incredible luxury, as well as a three-story basement and many luxury cars. But we don’t know if all this is true. The house is locked up like the maximum security wing of a prison, surrounded by walls and fences and monitored by countless cameras.”
What will happen next with the ‘ghost villa’ is not even clear, as almost no one has any insight into René Benko’s wealth of assets.
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.
