Red Bull

Chaleo Yoovidhya invented the energy drink Krating Daeng in the 1970s, originally marketing it to truck drivers and blue-collar workers in Thailand.⁠[1]

Dietrich Mateschitz was born in 1944 in Styria, Austria, and studied economics in Vienna; after graduating, he sold detergents for Unilever and later became marketing director of the German cosmetics company Blendax.⁠[2][2][2]

In 1982, while on a business trip in Asia, Mateschitz tried Krating Daeng and then sought out Chaleo Yoovidhya to partner with him, planning to adapt the drink for Western markets.⁠[1][1][2][2][3]

In 1984, Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya co-founded Red Bull.⁠[3][2]

Mateschitz spent three years adjusting the formula, and the modified drink was launched in Austria under the name Red Bull in 1987. Red Bull then expanded its market share, first in Europe and then in the United States, through advertising promoting the drink’s stimulating properties and extensive sponsorships in motorsports, soccer, extreme sports, and music.⁠[3][4][5][3]

In 2004, Red Bull began sponsoring mainstream sports such as soccer and basketball. At the end of that year, Mateschitz bought the Jaguar team from Ford and rebranded it as Red Bull from the 2005 season; he later also bought Minardi and renamed it Toro Rosso, using it as a sister team to develop drivers.⁠[6][3][3]

In 2005, Red Bull bought the Austrian club SV Austria Salzburg, rebranding it in the company colors as Red Bull Salzburg. In 2009, it bought the German fifth-tier club SSV Markranstädt, reorganized it as RasenBallsport Leipzig (RB Leipzig), and financed its steady rise through the league system until it was promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016; German league regulations did not allow the team to carry the Red Bull name. As of 2022, Red Bull also operated top-division teams in Brazil and the United States.⁠[3][3][3][3]

In 2007, Red Bull founded the media company Red Bull Media House to produce and distribute sports, culture, and lifestyle content and to supply footage to broadcasters.⁠[6][2][6]

In 2010, Red Bull Racing won its first Formula One world championship, going on to win the constructors’ championship four years in a row from 2010 to 2013; German driver Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive drivers’ championships during that period.⁠[6][3]

In 2012, Red Bull-sponsored Felix Baumgartner made a supersonic freefall jump from the edge of the stratosphere, breaking several records.⁠[6][4]

On March 17, 2012, co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya died. At the time, Red Bull sold about four billion cans of its drink a year in more than 160 countries.⁠[1][1]

On October 22, 2022, Red Bull announced that Dietrich Mateschitz had died at the age of 78; the news was announced by the Red Bull racing team at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. In an email to all employees, the company wrote that sadness would give way to gratitude for what he had changed and made possible. Red Bull had sold nearly 10 billion cans in 172 countries the previous year and had built sports, media, real estate, and gastronomy businesses around the brand.⁠[3][3][4][4][3][3]

On November 4, 2022, Red Bull announced that the company would be managed by a board of three directors: Franz Watzlawick, CEO of the beverage business; Alexander Kirchmayr, chief financial officer; and Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of corporate projects and investments. Mateschitz’s only son, Mark Mateschitz, said in a letter to employees that the arrangement reflected the wishes of both father and son and was supported by the Thai partners; he resigned from his managerial position to concentrate on his role as a shareholder. His company Distribution and Marketing GmbH holds 49% of Red Bull’s shares, with the rest held by Thailand’s Yoovidhya family.⁠[7][7][7][7][7]

On July 9, 2025, Red Bull released Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing since 2005, from his duties without giving a reason, and appointed Laurent Mekies of sister team Racing Bulls as CEO of Red Bull Racing. Under Horner, the team won eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships, but it was then fourth in the constructors’ standings that season.⁠[8][9][8][8][8]

Red Bull sold 13.97 billion cans worldwide in 2025, up 10.2% year on year; group revenue rose 8.6%, from €11.23 billion to €12.20 billion. These figures appeared in the Austrian media on January 21, 2026, before they had been officially published by the company, which did not respond to an inquiry from the Austria Press Agency. By the company’s own figures, it had 21,924 employees at the end of 2025 (19,973 in 2024) and its products were sold in 178 countries. In 2024, the group’s operating profit was €2.45 billion and its group profit €1.84 billion.⁠[10][10][11][10][10][10]

According to statutory disclosures as of August 2025, the shareholders of Red Bull GmbH are TC Agrotrading Co. Ltd. and Distribution & Marketing GmbH (49% each) and Chalerm Yoovidhya (2%); Distribution & Marketing GmbH is wholly owned by Mark Mateschitz, and TC Agrotrading is wholly owned by the Yoovidhya family. The company exploits the Red Bull trademark, and as of March 2026 its management consisted of Franz Watzlawick, Alexander Kirchmayr, and Oliver Mintzlaff.⁠[12][12][12][13][13]

Red Bull Media House GmbH, in which Red Bull GmbH holds shares, is based in Wals near Salzburg and is a multi-platform media company that produces and licenses global live broadcast events, short- and long-form programming, and films across TV, mobile, digital, audio, and print. Its businesses include Servus Media, a private Austrian media group; Terra Mater Studios, which specializes in nature and science documentaries; Red Bull Studios, a stand-alone film and TV studio; and Red Bull Content Pool, a content platform for media.⁠[12][13][6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

Red Bull: Official website: https://www.redbull.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[13]

Red Bull Media House: Official website: https://www.redbullmediahouse.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[13]