The first details
From “Gusi” to bear hunting: the Benko file is being filmed
The beginning and end of an unprecedented pyramid scheme. The book about it has just gone into its sixth edition. Now comes Benko, the movie! The "Krone" has the first details even before the announcement of the extraordinary deal.
A young Tyrolean who loves fast cars and is endlessly bored by homework. He drops out of school shortly before his A-levels, trains at the financial structure distributor AWD, borrows a Ferrari and talks to everyone he thinks has money. This is how René Benko's story begins. And an unprecedented pyramid game.
"Inside Signa - The Rise and Fall of René Benko" has followed the flow of money; the book, written by "Krone" investment journalist Rainer Fleckl together with Sebastian Reinhart ("News"), immediately became the best-selling book in Austria this year. "It is one of the rare bestsellers that has also reached Germany and Switzerland," says Bernhard Salomon, publisher of edition.a, which has now printed the sixth edition of the book. Another unique selling point: it will be the publisher's first non-fiction book to be made into a movie.
"There has never been so much interest in the film rights as this time," says Salomon, and within four weeks he already had four concrete offers on his desk. The contract was awarded to a major production company, details of the deal are to be announced soon.
There has never been so much interest in the film rights as this time. It is the first non-fiction book to be made into a movie. And one of the rare bestsellers that has also reached Germany and Switzerland.
Bernhard Salomon, Buchverleger
Screenwriters will soon be tackling this material, which sheds light on the inner workings of an international corporation. It gives a deep insight into the soul of René Benko, who felt magically attracted to the real estate business from the very beginning, has worked on construction sites and is literally free from giddiness. He quickly learns the jargon of money. And he works non-stop.
First networking and "Gusi" appearance
His first roof extensions were financed by a certain Karl Kovarik, heir to the Stroh filling stations. Through him, Benko met bankers, politicians and industrialists. One of them is a wealthy Greek shipowner who brings the Tyrol department store into Benko's possession. He receives political backing from Alfred Gusenbauer for the first time.
Adventurous investments followed - Kika/Leiner, KaDeWe, the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. Benko also reaches for the "Krone". In between the many deals on his 64-meter yacht RoMa, he jetted off to Romania with illustrious industrialists on a bear hunt. With his increasingly self-confident Signa, Benko attracts more and more major investors. These include diamond trader Benny Steinmetz, Hans Peter Haselsteiner, ex-Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking, sheikhs from the ruling house of Abu Dhabi and the German industrialist Klaus Michael Kühne.
The latter suddenly made Benko sit down like a little schoolboy at a lunch in the luxury restaurant The Fontenay in Hamburg. Benko begged. First for an hour. Then for ten minutes. Kühne remained firm.
A few weeks before the start of a bankruptcy domino, Benko had a horse bought for 2.38 million euros via a foundation. Material for a special kind of financial thriller.
Who will be in it?
Who plays René Benko in the planned movie (see slideshow above)? Who plays the mysterious woman at his side? Who is the millionaire advisor Gusenbauer, who is the "door opener" Sebastian Kurz? And who is the key figure, Klaus M. Kühne? The multi-billionaire dealt the final blow to Signa in Hamburg and finally brought Benko's house of cards crashing down.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.