'Gunther's Millions' Maurizio Mian Recently Joined A Horse Racing Venture
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Netflix’s newest four-part docuseries, Gunther’s Millions, drops on Feb. 1 and explores the bizarre but true story of a German Shepherd named Gunther who allegedly inherited $400 million from a countess. Among other things, Gunther reportedly owned several properties in Italy, a yacht, and had 27 employees.
Gunther got a *ton* of attention for his windfall—especially considering the strange detail that he lived with gorgeous people in fancy homes. But, as it turns out, the whole story was made up. The mastermind behind the whole Gunther-countess-inheritance scheme is actually a man named Maurizio Mian, who used Gunther "as the figurehead for various his companies, investments, properties and business endeavors," per Netflix.
The new docuseries promises an inside look at what was actually going on behind the scenes with Gunther and his dough. But first, you should get up to speed on the man behind the dog: Who is Maurizio Mian and where is he now? Here’s the deal.
Who is Maurizio Mian?
Maurizio Mian is actually an heir to a pharmaceutical company, according to the Daily Mail. The company, Istituto Gentili, developed a treatment for osteoporosis with Merck, and was bought out by Merck in 1997.
Maurizio told reporters that he was Gunther’s “handler,” according to the documentary.
Did Gunther really inherit money from a countess?
Nope—Mian made the whole thing up. Mian told the Associated Press (and other news outlets) that Gunther came from a long line of dogs that inherited a ton of money from a German countess back in the day.
The fictional countess, Karlotta Liebenstein, reportedly made clones of her dog and, before she died in 1992, set up a multi-million dollar trust for the current dog (Gunther III) and his future clones, per the Daily Mail.
The money actually comes from the family’s pharmaceutical company.
Some of the elements of the story are real, including the fact that Mian had Gunther hanging out in beautiful homes and was waited on hand and foot. But the money that funded the ruse actually came from Mian's own family—not a German countess.
Mian is CEO of The Gunther Corporation
In fact, he created The Gunther Corporation, a holding company that made real estate transactions.
The Gunther Corporation bought a Miami mansion from Madonna for $7.5 million in 2000, per the Associated Press. The company then tried to sell the mansion for $31.75 million.
He’s from Italy.
Mian is originally from Tuscany, the documentary explains—hence, the Italian real estate holdings.
In June, one of his old friends, Paolo Romanelli, told Thoroughbred Daily News that the two went to school and “grew up together" in the countryside of Pisa in a place called San Prospero. There, Romanelli says they were "part directors of a soccer team."
"We were very close," he added.
He was allegedly using the dog to promote his real estate holdings.
After initially reporting that a dog was selling Madonna's Miami home, the Associated Press issued a retration explaining that after further research, “the dog’s role appears to be little more than a joke that’s carried on for decades.”
Mian told an Italian newspaper in 1995, per the AP, that the story of the late countess “was just an invention to publicize the philosophy” of his foundation.
He later said that his claims that the countess is fake are a hoax (i.e. she was actually real) and that the dog stories are true.
What is Mian's net worth?
While he definitely comes from money and has plenty of expensive-looking real estate, Mian's total net worth is not clear at this time. Stay tuned!
Where is Maurizio Mian now?
He's definitely still alive and even participated in the docuseries. You can catch him chatting with producers in the trailer. However, Mian doesn't really seem to be a very public person.
He may still be living in the Miami area, though. Thoroughbred Daily News reported that he recently joined a group of investors there (including his childhood friend Paolo Romanelli) in a race horse stable venture.
Catch the strange tale of a filthy rich dog in Gunther's Millions when the series drops on Netflix on Feb. 1.
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