It is often said that money can buy anything, but ask Wolfgang Porsche (83), the Austro-German tycoon descendant of the founder of the sports car brand, who ultimately will not fulfill his dream.
When in 2020 he bought in Salzburg for 8.4 million euros the historic 17th-century villa where writer Stefan Zweig lived, the billionaire became fixated on wanting to build a private tunnel of about 500 meters that would take him from the city center to his residence.
To do this, Porsche processed the necessary permits to drill into Mount Kapuzinerberg, a 640-meter-high wooded area considered the city's great green lung. This way, the public parking at the foot of the hill would be connected to a parking area under the mansion with space for nine cars.
Local authorities granted permission to Wolfgang, but due to this whim, ecological and neighborhood associations, as well as political groups, opposed it, as the area is protected and designated as a World Heritage Site.
In fact, in April 2025, the Porsche Tunnel Festival in Salzburg was created, where for three days activists from Austria and Germany proclaimed "a city for all instead of a tunnel for one." Apart from the historical value and protection of the natural environment, protesters also complained about the high housing prices affecting thousands of people.
As a result of the commotion, the grandson of the Porsche founder partially lowered his demands by offering tunnel access to other residents, proposing to open the villa to the public at certain times of the year, and giving up on building an elevator.
However, these conditions did not satisfy the protesters, who indirectly got their way. Tired of so many headaches, a Porsche real estate spokesperson confirmed to the newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten that the millionaire has put the mansion up for sale. But here's the catch, as the future buyer must consider that the tunnel construction permit expires at the end of 2028.
In the area, talk of new protests is already circulating to prevent a project that would destroy one of Salzburg's symbols. Close associates of the billionaire have commented in like-minded circles that all this mess has been caused by "envy."
Stefan Zweig lived in the villa until 1934 when he was forced into exile due to the fierce advance of fascism. This personal-historical event led to the publication of Erasmus of Rotterdam: Triumph and Tragedy, where he expressed opposition to totalitarianism and dogmatism.
Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen
Another person who has been greatly disappointed is his fourth wife, Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen (63), whom he married in 2025. Their romance sparked a scandal, as the businessman filed for divorce from his wife, Claudia Hübner, who was suffering from dementia.
The aristocrat is well-known in European high society. After her parents' divorce, German entrepreneurs Helmut Friedhelm Homey and Renate Kerkhoff (87), her mother Renate married Bodo Thyssen, heir to the German industrial dynasty and cousin of Heini Thyssen, the last husband of Tita Cervera (83).
Although the couple did not have children, the magnate also adopted Gabriele Renate and her brother Joachim Helmut. Undoubtedly, the Thyssen name opened doors to an unimaginable universe for all of them, expanding as Gabriele said "I do."
It is also fair to say that Gabriele had a healthy bank account, as her mother had been the owner of the most important chain of hotels and restaurants in Austria. Therefore, she received an exquisite education at some of the best institutions worldwide, such as Schloss Salem School in Switzerland, where Queen Sofia and Prince Philip of Edinburgh had previously studied.
Among her university studies, she holds a doctorate magna cum laude in International Law from the Universities of Munich and Cologne obtained in 1990.
In 1991, she married Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen (74) in Venice -pretender to the extinct Russian empire throne- with whom she had a daughter, Princess Teresa of Leiningen (34). In the ongoing dispute over who is the legitimate heir to the Romanovs, the Monarchist Party sided with Karl Emich in 2013, excluding Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, who has been living in Madrid for decades, from the supposed succession. Therefore, Karl Emich became known to supporters as Emperor Nicholas III. The divorce came in 1998.
A few months later, she married Aga Khan IV, leader of the Ismaili Nizari Muslim community, one of the wealthiest men in the world and a close friend of King Juan Carlos I since they met at the Swiss boarding school Le Rosey.
Before the marriage, Gabriele converted to Islam, henceforth known as Begum Inaara Aga Khan. They had a son, Prince Aly Muhamamad Aga Khan (26). They divorced in 2004. The 49th Imam and spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim branch passed away at the age of 88 in 2025.
Throughout her life, the princess has worked as a lawyer, managed part of her mother's businesses, worked as a real estate manager, been an active member of the German Foundation Against AIDS sponsorship council, and a consultant for UNESCO in Paris for promoting gender equality and improving women's living conditions.
She has also dedicated herself wholeheartedly to various philanthropic activities related to women's rights, combating child abuse, creating microcredits for development in Eastern Europe and some Asian countries.