Editor’s Note
This article examines the lavish lifestyle and reported financial pressures of Signa founder René Benko, contrasting his history of extravagant gifts with emerging claims of unpaid debts.
At his peak, Signa founder René Benko was among the richest men in Austria. He is said to have spent lavishly on gifts for his wife Nathalie. However, it appears he was already unable to pay a Zurich jeweler in December 2021.
Several villas, expensive cars, high-end watches, and elegant cufflinks – Signa founder René Benko lived a life of luxury for years.
Even before his personal bankruptcy, he is also said to have generously gifted his wife Nathalie, as reported by the German newspaper “Bild,” citing investigation files from the Soko Signa task force.
According to the report, Benko kept a list of “occasion-based gifts” for his wife Nathalie from 2014 to 2023. In total, the presents are said to have reached a total value of around €8 million, with annual sums ranging between €200,000 and €2.5 million.
A particularly explosive detail is a failed deal with a Zurich jeweler: Benko is said to have reserved a “Harry Winston Yellow Diamond Ring” worth 2,302,697 Swiss Francs (then around €2.21 million) there.
However, just before Christmas 2021, the jeweler withdrew from the deal. In an email dated December 7, a salesperson wrote to Benko:
According to “Bild,” the Soko Signa investigation files show no response from Benko. However, a further message from the jeweler the following day suggests the Tyrolean was not pleased about the collapsed deal. It stated:
The ring was no longer available.
The Soko Signa investigation report is said to indicate that Benko could not raise the funds for the luxury ring in time.
Another diamond ring also plays a central role for investigators. Benko is said to have purchased this ring in the summer of 2021 – also from the Zurich jeweler. According to the invoice, he paid 2,359,090 Swiss Francs (then around €2.16 million) for it.
“Bild” quotes from an email from the jeweler to Benko dated June 28, 2021:
Investigators found this “dream ring” on January 23, 2025, during a raid at the house of Nathalie Benko’s relatives – hidden in a safe behind wine boxes.
Also found there were six other rings, eleven wristwatches with a total value of €229,020, replacement watch straps worth €8,500, four pairs of cufflinks (€9,400), and €120,000 in cash.
In the course of his personal bankruptcy, Benko had declared that he had fully disclosed his assets. However, the valuables discovered during the search were not listed in his disclosure.
The Signa founder maintains that all the rings belong to his wife. Eight of the watches were said to be Christmas gifts for relatives, and the cash came from his wife’s savings.
Nathalie Benko also confirmed these statements. In his testimony, Benko further explained that they had deliberately stored the valuables outside the villa.
The Austrian Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), however, suspects that Benko “concealed several assets in his possession.” He is alleged to have been assisted by another suspect – Nathalie Benko.
She is accused of having tried to “withdraw the assets from the reach of insolvency administrators and creditors, thereby preventing or diminishing the satisfaction of creditors,” according to a WKStA statement in May.
The suspect is thereby alleged to have “contributed to the possible criminal offense of fraudulent bankruptcy.”
Nathalie and René Benko are presumed innocent.
