page_title: René Benko
section_title: Until 2006
hierarchical_section_title: René Benko / Business activities / Until 2006
caption_attribution_description: English: shopping center Tyrol in Innsbruck, front side on Maria-Theresien-Strasse Deutsch: Kaufhaus Tyrol in Innsbruck, Vorderseite Maria-Theresien-Straße
context_page_description: René Benko is an Austrian real estate, media and retail trade investor and founder of SIGNA Holding GmbH. SIGNA is considered Austria's largest privately held real estate conglomerate. With an estimated wealth of US$3.8 billion, he is currently one of the ten richest Austrians. In 2019 Forbes classified René Benko as the third richest Austrian and number 365 in the world.
context_section_description: At the end of 1999 Benko founded the two-person company Immofina Holding GmbH, which was renamed Signa Holding GmbH in 2006.
  The first projects included the extension of attics into luxury apartments and the profitable purchase and sale of the health hotel Lanserhof in Lans.
  After these successes, the Viennese entrepreneur Karl Kovarik, who inherited a number of gas stations, contributed to the first financial jump-start with 25 million euros.
  The next steps included the opening of medical centers in Vienna, and the acquisition of the Kaufhaus Tyrol, which was completely renovated between 2007 and 2010. The planning was carried out by the architect David Chipperfield. The Innsbruck office of Signa is still in the Kaufhaus Tyrol. Before the completion of the Kaufhaus Tyrol, Signa's offices were located in the Europahaus in the Museum Street.
  In 2005, a corporate advisory board with prominent figures from politics and business was founded, which continues to shape the company's strategy.
caption: Kaufhaus Tyrol department store
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