The story of the world's richest dog with a net worth of 9 trillion yuan and his tricks that make the whole world stupid

If you ask the richest dog on earth, people are no strangers to the name Gunther. Because the name of this German Shepherd has been on the headlines of major newspapers, like a popular star. Accompanying it is an extremely passionate story between the animal and its owner.

In 1992, the wealthy German Countess Karlotta Liebenstein died without an heir. Her only son, also named Gunther, died at the age of 26. Out of her love for dogs, the countess left her entire property worth US$400 million (equivalent to more than 90,000 VND at the current exchange rate) to her dog Gunther III.

An upcoming Netflix documentary has exposed the scam perpetrated by Maurizio Mian (pictured). He claims his dog Gunther III controls a $400 million fortune.

Since then, the animal has been associated with the name "the richest dog in the world". Gunther III even gave birth to offspring, creating the most prosperous and luxurious "dog family" in the world.

For so many years, the major newspapers have been full of pictures of the Gunther family members being well-dressed, servants, in luxury houses and cars, and even eating only dishes for nobles.

People "pretend to believe" the Gunther III succession story without knowing its origin. The dog bought Madonna's Miami mansion for $7.5 million in 2000, owns an Italian soccer team, and even runs a nightclub in Pisa, enthralling journalists from Miami to Rome.

A young Maurizio Mian..

The world's media covered the Gunther family's lavish lifestyle, real treats, steaks, caviar, yachts, private jets, Lamborghinis, and servants, including the appointed head caregiver, Maurizio Mian.

Though it was a "bizarre true story", it turned out to be a hoax, and the mastermind was Maurizio Mian.

Now, in a new documentary called "The Gunther Millionaire," Netflix uncovers the truth behind the lavish lives of the Gunther canine family.

The tax evasion drama blinds the world

Never a Countess, Gunther III's wealth story was an elaborate ruse by Maurizio Mian to hide the family fortune and avoid paying taxes at home, according to the Daily Mail. In this series, filmmakers Aurelien Leturgie and Emilie Dumay uncover the devious machinations of Maurizio Mian - a man who has suffered from depression all his life.

The first question is where does the money come from? Maurizio Mian's wealth comes from his family's Italian pharmaceutical business, Istituto Gentili. The company developed breakthrough treatments for osteoporosis and was acquired by US pharmaceutical giant Merck in 1997.

Gunther III was originally Maurizio's girlfriend's dog. Maurizio then used it to promote a drug called Fosamax in Italian media, claiming that it miraculously cured osteoporosis in dogs.

“Over time, stories of miraculous cures lost traction in the media,” explains Maurizio, explaining how he concocted a more mythical story about Gunther to capture public interest.

Maurizio Mian appeared on television with one of the members of the Gunther clan.

Maurizio explained that his mother transferred the family estate to Liechtenstein to a trusted friend in Germany named Karlotta Liebenstein. As we all know, Liechtenstein is a "tax haven" for the rich, and the trustee's income can be tax-avoided here.

"In 1992, my mother's friend, a German woman, passed away. So, all of a sudden, I had the idea of leaving the legacy to the dog Gunther," Maurizio said. "It was also a well-orchestrated decision, a tax-defrauding financial ploy."

Maurizio confirmed that Gunther VI lived a lavish life, owning a private jet and yacht.

In Maurizio's story, the family friend becomes a wealthy countess who bequeaths her estate to Gunther III and his descendants, while the dog himself and the crew around him are the custodians of the vast fortune.

At an unspecified time, Gunther III died. It was constantly replaced by a string of nearly identical German Shepherds - Gunther IV (lived until 2005), Gunther V (lived until 2018), and now Gunther VI.

"We always needed a dog that was clearly designated as the heir," Maurizio said of the development.

"White-collar crime" expert (a term used to refer to criminals of an economic and non-violent nature, often considered fraudulent by large corporations or government agencies) Jack Bloom sarcastically told the filmmakers: "It's all comedy. I It's hard to understand why anyone thinks this plan will never be discovered."

The story started gaining traction in the US in 2000 with the news that Gunther VI the Dog had bought Madonna's Miami mansion for $7.5 million.

crazy party

The documentary series reveals how Maurizio brought home young sexy models, all believed to work for the Gunther family, as part of a pseudoscientific research project aimed at uncovering the keys to happiness.

The group lived by a set of "13 commandments" (a commandment is a list of moral and religious commands), all of which are said to have been laid down by a German countess in her book, including "the right never to be forbidden to enjoy" and the commandment "the right to life" is an endless festival".

About a year later, after irritating Miami neighbors with raucous parties, Maurizio moved to Italy, where his dog Gunther VI is said to have purchased a nightclub in Pisa.

Maurizio also bought Pisa's team under the name Gunther VI, appointing two porn stars as team presidents, which angered the Italian media.

In these "miracles of miracles," Maurizio continues what he calls his research on human happiness, a quest he candidly admits in the series to be driven by struggles, and his own struggles with depression and mental illness.

The project has become increasingly bizarre, to find perfectly happy people with whom one can relate, to create a "race of superhumans who don't know sadness."

The film's most shocking revelations involve not only a clever tax evasion scheme but also animal cruelty, which Maurizio says he didn't know about.

In maintaining the "Gunther" inbreeding and breeding offspring dogs for the family, Maurizio sponsored an Italian dog breeder who specialized in raising German Shepherds, helping Gunther III to breed many offspring.

In January 2020, Italian police rescued 52 dogs after they found them malnourished in a small indoor enclosure at a house in Tuscany. Breeder Alarico Sgroi declined toon story this story.

Ambiguous lies make the media "fall into the pit"

Stories of the world's richest dog millionaire continued to fool reporters as recently as 2021 when numerous agencies reported that Gunther VI (Gunther III's grandson) sold Madonna's former Miami mansion for $31.75 million.

Even the famous Associated Press covered the story. However, The Associated Press later retracted the post and issued a correction.

"The Associated Press published a story that did not meet our standards and should not have been published. We did not conduct a thorough background check during the reporting process. We attached it. The story itself and sincerely apologize," an Associated Press statement said people said at the time.

Maurizio's story has changed over the years, sometimes admitting that the Countess' story is a fabrication, but at other times insisting it is true.

"I'm being completely honest. I've never done anything wrong except evade taxes through technological devices," he says in the new Netflix series. However, the film's director, Aurelien Leturgie, told The New York Post that while Maurizio was willing to participate in the documentary, he was an unreliable source.

"She's not a countess, but she's real," admits Maurizio of the fictional character Karlotta Liebenstein.