Gunther the German Shepherd is supposedly the world’s richest dog, with a life that most humans could only dream of. But is Gunther’s money all a very elaborate hoax? Here’s the truth behind a dog that inspired a Netflix series, Gunther’s Millions.
A German Shepherd Worth Millions?
Gunther the German Shepherd became famous for a large inheritance of money, making him the richest dog in the world.
©Bigandt_Photography/ via Getty Images
The tale of Gunther dates back to the 1990’s, when a story circulated of a wealthy German heiress named Karlotta Liebenstein. With no living relatives, Liebenstein left her vast estimated $85 million fortune to her dog Gunther. The dog is placed in the care of a family friend named Maurizio Mian. A trust is created so that the inheritance would stay within the dog’s bloodline, passing down to every other German Shepherd, who would also be named Gunther.
Gunther has an Italian villa, his own chauffeur, and every comfort money could buy. Even the Guinness Book of World Records joins in on the world’s fascination with Gunther, giving him the title of the “World’s Richest Dog”.
In the Netflix documentary, the fortune is now supposedly $400 million and in the paws of Gunther VI. The dog’s inheritance goes to yachts, mansions, and all the steaks a dog could want, amongst every other expense one could imagine.
The Truth Comes Out
There really was a German Shepherd named Gunther, but that’s all that is confirmed to be true.
©iStock.com/diego_cervo
But then, shocking everyone, Gunther’s true story finally comes to light. Incredibly, Mian confesses the whole story of Gunther’s millions is a detailed hoax. It turns out, there never was a German heiress. The circulating picture of Karlotta Liebenstein is merely a family friend of Mian’s. And the real Gunther was a German Shepherd owned by Mian’s girlfriend at the time.
The details of where Gunther’s millions come from and how much he actually has still remain unclear, after all, someone had to be paying for that lavish lifestyle. Mian claims it’s his family’s money, and naming Gunther as the benefactor was admittedly a tax scam. Supposedly, Mian is the heir to a pharmaceutical company. He says he used Gunther as a way to bring publicity to products in development. To this day, no one knows for sure what’s fully true in Mian’s elaborate stories. But the bloodline of Gunthers is clearly living a fancier life than most dogs.
