Death of Count Riprand von und zu Arco-Zinneberg

@American Assets Corporation

Count Riprand Franz Maria von und zu Arco-Zinneberg died today, August 24, 2021, from cancer in a hospital in Salzburg, Austria  He was 66 years old and had been battling the disease since 2019.

The count was born on July 25, 1955, the second son and youngest child of Count Ulrich von und zu Arco-Zinneberg and Countess Maria Theresia of Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos.  He was a  great-grandson of the last Bavarian King, Ludwig III, and his wife, Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria.  

Ludwig's youngest child, Princess Gundelinde was Riprand's maternal grandmother.

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2010/03/princess-gundelinde-of-bavaria.html

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 Count Riprand was married to HI & RH Archduchess Maria Beatrix Anna Felicitas Zita Charlotte Adelheid Christina Elisabeth Gennara of Austria, the eldest child of HI & RH Archduke Robert of Austria and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta.  Their civil wedding took place in St. Martin Im Innkreis, Austria on March 31, 1980.  The religious service was celebrated on April 26  in the cathedral at Chartres, France. Their wedding was the Point de Vue's cover story for the May 16, 1980 issue.

Maria Beatrix is the granddaughter of the last Emperor of Austria, Karl I, and his wife, Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma.  She and her late husband are 5th cousins as both are descendants of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756-1825).

The Count and Countess were included in a New York Times article, The Royal Treatment, which was published on April 25, 2010, and featured interviews with Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Prince Philippos of Greece, Archduke Geza of Austria, Prince Peter of Yugoslavia, and Count Riprand and his wife, all of whom were living in the New York metropolitan area.   In 2010, the Arcos were living in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Maria Beatrix told reporter Christine Haughney that her family connections with Riprand made marriage "easier when you have a lot of common values."

The couple arrived in the United States in 1983 and soon settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they raised their six daughters.  In 1989, the couple began "buying shopping centers from their kitchen table" in their Charlotte home.  Count Riprand noted that they owned a 15th-century castle near Munich on the Danube and a summer home in the Dominican Republic, but "these properties were paid through their hard work in business," and not with an inherited fortune. 

"People love their dreams and they romanticize things.  There is a great discrepancy between the cliches and the reality," he said.

The Count and his wife were the parents of six daughters: Countess Anna Theresa (1981), who married Colin McKenzie in September 2018, Countess Margherita (1983), H IH Olympia, Princes Napoleon (1988), the wife of HIH, Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoleon, Countess Maximiliana (1990), Countess Marie Gabrielle (1992), and Countess Giorgiana  (1997).

Marie Gabrielle is a trained opera singer and sings professionally as Marie Gabriele Arco.   Margherita, Maximiliana, and Giorgiana all live in London and work for Free Architect Film, Tristan Capital Partners, and Trends & Culture, respectively.

https://www.mariegabriellearco.com/bio

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https://www.vhlf.org/board-of-directors/riprand-graf-arco-zinneberg/

https://www.arcobraeu.de/en/familienchronik-1

Count Riprand graduated with a master’s degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture from the Technische Universität München and spent many years in the United States where he and his wife raised their daughters in Connecticut.   In 1986, he founded the American Asset Corporation, which has offices in New York City and North Carolina, and remained as Chairman until his death.  Archduchess Maria Beatrix remains a partner in the firm.

https://www.aacusa.com/

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 He and his wife divided their time between New York City and Austria and Germany, where they owned several residences including Arco Palace in Munich and Schloss Moos.  The family brewery, Arco Bräu, is based in Moos, Bavaria, and is run by their eldest daughter, Anna Theresa. 

Count Riprand inherited the brewery and estate in 2003 which was left to him by his mother, Countess Maria-Theresia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, born Countess von Preysing-Lichtenegg and Moos. She was the granddaughter of King Ludwig III.

"Moos is my home", the count once said as the "Arcobräu brewery has always been close to his heart, according to PNP newspaper.

The Count had also "declared that only one of his daughters would inherit the traditional fortune so that it would be preserved."

Count Riprand is survived by his wife, their six daughters, two sons-in-law, and one granddaughter, Josephine McKenzie (2019).

https://www.pnp.de/lokales/landkreis-deggendorf/osterhofen/Riprand-Graf-Arco-Zinneberg-verstorben-4083835.html

https://www.pnp.de/nachrichten/bayern/Riprand-Graf-von-und-zu-Arco-Zinneberg-ueberraschend-verstorben-4083889.html

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