OAP Playboy Loses Out In Swiss Castle Bid To Host Putin

Story ByKoen BerghuisSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyCEN

An 82-year-old playboy has missed out on a gorgeous Swiss castle where he wanted to host a meeting with Vladimir Putin to talk about Donald Trump after he was outbid.

The huge property, known as Eugensberg Castle in Salenstein, a town in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, was acquired by IT entrepreneur Christian Schmid.

Schmid, 38, was in a battle with 82-year-old playboy Peter Buser to buy the castle overlooking Untersee Lake which spans the border with Germany.

Pictures Credit: CEN

The castle was previously owned by Rolf Erb, an entrepreneur sentenced for fraud. Authorities put the castle on the market due to Erb’s bankruptcy and later death in 2017.

Buser reportedly offered 36.5 million CHF (27.7 million GBP) for the castle – but the offer was topped by Schmid who in the end managed to acquire it.

The details of the sale – including the final selling price – have not been shared publicly by the involved parties.

Included in the sale are a large park, forest, agricultural land and a bathing house on the shore of the lake.

The biggest draw of the castle is, however, the large swimming pool in front of it as well as the beautifully decorated rooms.

According to local media, not much is known about the new owner Christian Schmid as he prefers to live a secluded life away from the spotlight.

The same cannot be said of Buser, who now has to look for another property to acquire.

Buser, who earned his fortune as an asset manager, earned his name as a playboy in Switzerland due to his lavish lifestyle.

He visited the Vienna Opera Ball surrounded by six women, and once made a tour across then-communist Eastern Germany in a Lamborghini.

Buser said he wanted to buy Eugensberg Castle because he “fell in love with the premises” which “has a special flair”.

He said his biggest wish was to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin if he had managed to buy the castle so he could talk with him about Donald Trump.