Lugner, Richard

Sophia Loren, Kim Kardashian, Priscilla Presley and Jane Fonda were among the stars Richard Lugner enticed, and often paid, to appear at the Vienna Opera Ball.The Vienna Opera Ball, a glittering, glamorous affair, always attracts politicians, business executives, artists and socialites. But in a high-profile crowd, none reigned quite like Richard Lugner, a billionaire Austrian construction magnate who died this week at 91.Lugner was famous for showing up at the ball each year with megawatt Hollywood stars, whom he often paid to appear with him. His guests over the years included Sophia Loren, Goldie Hawn, Brooke Shields and Kim Kardashian. They were usually, but not always, women: He brought Harry Belafonte one year, and Roger Moore another. When Jane Fonda went in 2023, she was quoted as explaining that he had offered to pay her “quite a bit of money” to appear as his guest. At this year’s ball in February, Lugner appeared with Priscilla Presley, the former wife of Elvis Presley.Karl Nehammer, the chancellor of Austria, wrote on X that Lugner, who also tried his hand at politics, was “an Austrian original.” In a statement, the Vienna State Opera expressed its “sincere condolences to Richard Lugner’s family.”Here’s a look at Lugner’s appearances at the Vienna Opera Ball over the years.Faye Dunaway and Lugner in 1999.Herwig Prammer/ReutersKim Kardashian, Lugner and Kris Jenner in 2014.Gisela Schober/Getty ImagesPriscilla Presley danced with Lugner at this year’s ball.Christian Bruna/EPA, via ShutterstockLugner, in 2000, flanked by the actress Jacqueline Bisset, center, and the television presenter Nadja Abd el Farrag. His fourth wife, Christina, is on the left.Pool photo by ReutersAndie MacDowell and Lugner in 2004.Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesFarrah Fawcett, center, drinking wine with the Lugners in 2001.Miro Kuzmanovic/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesLugner and Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls arriving at their opera box in 2005.Leonhard Foeger/ReutersRaquel Welch and her husband Richard Palmer joined the Lugners in 1998.Herbert Pfarrhofer/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesElle Macpherson, left, accompanied Lugner and his companion to the Vienna Opera Ball in 2019.Florian Wieser/EPA, via Shutterstock More