Formula One legend Niki Lauda’s widow has been awarded a huge share of his GBP-445-million legacy after a landmark ruling by judges in Austria.
The motor racing icon’s second wife Birgit Lauda, 45, had been banned from receiving anything from his will after his trustees said she should not get a penny.
Under Austrian law, where the race ace was born, Birgit was entitled to one-sixth of Lauda’s fortune – believed to be worth more than GBP 74 million.
But trustees of Lauda’s private foundation had declared that as he lived in Ibiza his estate was subject to Spanish law and Birgit would get nothing.
Now, after a four-year legal battle, Higher Regional Court judges in Austria have rejected the foundation’s case and ordered them to pay up, according to local media.
They further rejected claims that Birgit was “unworthy” to inherit because she had allegedly concealed valuable works of art from the foundation.
Now Birgit is in line to receive one-sixth of the estate along with Lauda’s four children and, it is understood, his first wife, Marlene Knaus.
Birgit’s lawyer Christoph Kerres said: “According to the law, the compulsory share must be received within one year of the testator’s death.
“The court confirms that Birgit Lauda was not guilty of anything in the inheritance dispute and that she is therefore entitled to her compulsory share.”
After the hearing, Birgit told local media: “I very much regret that I had to enforce my claim in court.
“I was happily married to Niki for 11 years.”
Birgit even donated a kidney to the Formula One ace before their wedding in 2008.
Lauda lost a kidney as a result of his devastating crash at the Nurburgring Grand Prix in 1976, where he suffered horrific burns to his face and body.
Last year (2023), Austria’s Regional Court for Civil Law Matters in Vienna ruled that Birgit should have her share of her late husband’s fortune.
But the foundation trustees’ appeal to the Higher Regional Court has now been rejected.
The ruling comes almost exactly five years after Lauda died on 20th May 2019, aged 70.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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