Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza

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Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921-2002)

Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (2 April 1921 – 26 April 2002), a noted industrialist and art collector, was a Dutch-born Swiss citizen with a Hungarian title, a legal resident of Monaco for tax purposes, with a declared second residency in the United Kingdom, but in actuality a long-time resident of Spain. His fifth and last wife, Carmen "Tita" Cervera, is a former Miss Spain.

He was born in Scheveningen, Netherlands, the son of Heinrich Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (1875-1947) and his first wife, Baroness Margit Bornemisza de Kászon (1887-1971). The Thyssen family's fortune was built upon a steel and armaments empire: Heinrich Thyssen had abandoned Germany as a young man and settled in Hungary in 1905.

In Budapest, Heinrich married the daughter of the king's chamberlain, who, having no sons of his own, adopted Heinrich and passed on his barony to him. The passing along of the title has raised numerous questions over whether Heinrich Thyssen could actually call himself baron at all.

He married firstly, 1 August 1946, Austrian aristocrat Princess Teresa Amalia Franziska Elisabeth Maria of the Lippe-Weissenfeld (born 1925). Their only child was Georg Heinrich (born 1950). They divorced 14 May 1954, and she married in 1960, as her second husband, Friedrich Maximilian, Prince of Fürstenberg.

He married secondly, 23 June 1954, Anglo-Indian fashion model Nina Dyer (1930-1965); they had no children and were divorced on 4 July 1956. She later married and divorced His Highness Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan and committed suicide in 1965.

He married thirdly, 17 September 1956, New Zealand-born British fashion model Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter (born 1932). She was a daughter of Rear-Admiral Keith McNeil Walter (later Campbell-Walter) and his wife, Frances Henriette Campbell.

Their children were Francesca (born 1958 and now married to Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, heir to the defunct Austrian imperial throne) and Lorne (born 1963). They divorced on 20 January 1965, and she went on to have a well-publicized relationship with Greek shipping heir Alexander Onassis, the only son of Aristotle Onassis.

He married fourthly, 13 December 1967, Denise Shorto (born 1942), a Brazilian banker's daughter. They had one son, Alexander (born 1974), and divorced in November 29, 1984, after an acrimonious four-year battle.

He married, lastly, 16 August 1985, María del Carmen Rosario Cervera Fernández de la Guerra, popularly known as Carmen "Tita" Cervera, (born 1943), who was Miss Spain of 1961. He adopted her son, Borja (born 1980, father unknown). In 1965, she had married Lex Barker (1919-1973), an American actor and socialite best known for his portrayal of Tarzan. He had previously been married to Lana Turner and Arlene Dahl. Tita had won an out-of-court settlement in the mid-1970s which effectively left Barker’s youngest son, Christopher, disinherited.

As part of an attempt to dissolve a trust and thereby gain control of her third husband’s assets, she cast doubt on the paternity of Georg Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, alleging that his father was actually Count Iván Batthyány de Német-Ujvár, the husband of Thyssen's sister, Margit: however, a settlement was reached between the parties before the baron's death in Sant Feliu de Guixols, Catalonia, Spain, which brought to a "peaceable" conclusion the wrangling over control of the vast Thyssen art collection, which will remain in Spain.

He died in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain.

He is buried in the family vault of Landsberg Castle in the Ruhr valley near Essen, Germany.