'Signa, the Austrian real estate empire, is entering a legal restructuring.'

'confirmed the introduction of restructuring procedures under the control of the bankruptcy administrator. In this way, Signa Holding can freeze the repayment of debts while the company is reorganized. In response to complaints from some shareholders, René Benko stepped back in November, leaving the management to the reorganization expert but remaining the owner.

With a rumble at the Chrysler Building. For a huge businessman who liked to brag about the vastness of his assets, his fall was profound. Born in 1977 to a middle-class family in Innsbruck, Tyrol, René Benko starts repairing attics as a teenager. He finds his calling. He drops out of school to start his own company and quickly builds a strong network. Managing hundreds of companies over the years he''is accumulating €27 billion worth of real estate and diversifying into trading and media. This was reflected by the slogan of the 2000s: 'It's never been so boring to become rich,' the company wrote on its website, offering investors mysterious enrichment. However, the situation has changed: interest rates have risen significantly, and successive crises (pandemic, war in Ukraine) have driven up the cost of building materials. Already several subsidiaries of the group have filed for bankruptcy and epathetic projects have been put on hold, including in Germany, where Signa operates.