"Not within my grasp" What Reinhold Messner's wife says about the inheritance dispute in the family
Reinhold Messner left part of his fortune to his children five years ago - which led to inheritance disputes. Now his wife Diane has spoken out and says she regrets the family disagreements.
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- Five years ago, mountaineer Reinhold Messner left his family part of his million-dollar fortune.
- The moment he distributed his material inheritance to his children and his wife Diane, the family broke up, says Messner today.
- His wife is now also speaking out in the dispute over the legacy of the South Tyrolean mountaineering legend.
- "I only came into Reinhold's life later, it's not tangible for me," says Diane Messner in an interview.
Reinhold Messner can celebrate his 80th birthday on September 17. But instead of planning a big party with his favorite people, the South Tyrolean extreme mountaineer is currently living in a mountain hut.
The reason for Messner's retreat into nature: his family has been at odds for years over an inheritance dispute.
At the age of 75, the mountaineering legend had passed on part of his million-dollar fortune to his four children and his third wife Diane at an early age - with fatal consequences.
In a recent interview with "Apotheken Umschau", he described this step as one of his "biggest mistakes". "The question of who got more was in the foreground," says Reinhold Messner.
Diane Messner: "I only came into Reinhold's life later"
For his wife Diane, 36 years his junior, the current situation in the Messner family is difficult to comprehend. "I only came into Reinhold's life later, it's not tangible for me," she comments on the inheritance disputes in an interview with "Rai Südtirol".
She continues: "I'm looking to the future with Reinhold. I know we don't have as much time as other couples have."
Diane Messmer is pleased that her relationship with her husband has not suffered so far despite the family disputes. Even in "difficult times", she says, it is important to "talk openly about problems and worries".
The Luxembourg-born woman once learned this in her own extended family. However, she would rather not mediate between her husband and his four children.
"Parents give you a lot of life experience"
"I would always try to give a pacifying tip. But if it's not about me, I won't get involved," Diane Messner told "Rai Südtirol".
When asked whether she, as a partner, does not also play a role in the family dispute, Messner answers evasively: "That could be." However, only the other family members could answer this question.
She continues: "I come from a different world, I have my own family and I'm glad that I still have my parents. I talk to them on the phone every day. Parents also give you a lot of life experience. I couldn't imagine a situation like this with my parents."
The first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders
South Tyrolean Reinhold Messner has been one of the most famous extreme mountaineers in the world since the late 1970s.
In 1978, together with his climbing partner Peter Habeler, he became the first person to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, the 8,848-metre-high Mount Everest in the Himalayas, without the aid of oxygen equipment.
Messner was also the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders in the world.
