Gunther VI, the 'richest dog in the world,' gets his tale told in Netflix doc: ‘Every good story has secrets’

A German shepherd sold a Miami estate that once belonged to Madonna for $29 million – except it was all a ruse.

The story of Gunther VI, reportedly the world’s richest dog, is being explored in a new Netflix investigative docuseries premiering Feb. 1 titled "Gunther’s Millions." The four-part series explores how the high-profile canine amassed his riches and how the owners managed to look over a sought-after trust.

"This is a really shocking story that feels larger than life," director Aurelien Leturgie told FOX Business. "It sounds like a fairy tale. You have this dog – the richest dog in the world – with the most lavish life and glamorous entourage. The story sounds bonkers. So, naturally we were intrigued right from the start. And over the years, a lot of media have reported stories about Gunther, but this time, we were able to get unprecedented access. No one has gotten the kind of access we got to tell the story fully and to dig deeper."

The story goes that the pampered pooch inherited his fortune from the late German countess Karlotta Liebenstein, who lost her beloved son – also named Gunther – to suicide. The noblewoman, who had no heirs or close relatives, set up a trust before her death in 1992 and left her entire $80 million fortune to her furry companion. The dog – Gunther VI’s grandfather, Gunther III – was placed in the care of her deceased son’s close friend, Maurizio Mian. The scion of an Italian pharmaceutical company quickly built an empire around the beloved pet.

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However, there is no evidence that a countess of any kind has ever existed. Some reports alleged there may even be more than one Gunther.

"There are a lot of things we uncovered," Leturgie said. "There’s the story that was presented to us in the first place. … We later learned that Maurizio is very attached to the story of the countess and the son of the countess. I’m going to say these are … characters that represent something very deep to him. We had to dig deeper to understand that. But this is important to him because this is his story."

But one thing is certain, the filmmakers said, Gunther is very much the real deal.

"Gunther lives in Italy," said executive producer Emilie Dumay. "He has a very nice life and is very well taken care of. Throughout the years, there were multiple Gunthers. Obviously, Gunther does not necessarily travel or do all the activities – that’s something the caretakers do. So, sometimes they will have stand-ins. They will have a stand-in if they feel it’s not appropriate to bring Gunther due to safety reasons. They’re also very protective of him."

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Today, Gunther has a reported net worth of $400 million. According to reports, some of the assets under the Gunther Corp. include villas in Italy, a German estate, properties in the Bahamas, private jets and a yacht.

Mian told an Italian outlet that the tall tale of Gunther was "just an invention to publicize the philosophy of the Gunther Group and the Gunther Foundation," the Tampa Bay Times reported in 1995. However, Mian later claimed he was "only trying to throw off the Italian press" that had been unfair to the Gunther Foundation, now known as Gunther Corp.

In 1999, the Miami Herald reported that Gunther was trying to purchase a mansion from Sylvester Stallone. The next day, the outlet revealed it was just a publicity stunt.

"If you want to write it’s a joke, you can write that," Mian told the outlet. "I won’t do anything."

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Gunther may not be doing the splurging, but the film depicts him as living the high life. According to reports, Gunther is waited on paw and foot with several caretakers, eats gold-flaked steaks for dinner, drinks bottled water and visits a high-end groomer frequently to ensure he’s always camera-ready. Gunther is also well protected by a security team.

According to Dumay, Gunther’s handlers are actively looking for ways to further expand his brand. There have been discussions of "a digital collection" that will allow fans to interact with him.

Mian was interviewed in-depth for the docuseries. At one point, he alleged that Gunther was cloned but then quickly implied it was nothing more than a joke.

"That’s just typical Maurizio," Dumay chuckled. "He lives between reality and fantasy. And for him, losing the story of the countess and the son was a very big hit. It’s something that has been with him for so long. It became part of his identity. So, I think he was trying to recreate something, trying to maybe build off a new storyline where he could control the narrative, maybe something to shock the audience. There’s always something big in his story. It’s always trying to get media attention. I believe [the claim of clones] is him trying to feed another narrative out there."

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"There are aspects of the story that are real," Leturgie said. "Gunther very much exists. But there are other aspects of the story that took us quite a bit of time to understand. Of course, that involved doing our research. But Gunther is also an ideology. Gunther represents a lifestyle. That’s what we navigated throughout the years to understand where the reality stops and where the fiction kicks in. There’s a bit of both."

Mian’s own money appears to have come from his family’s Italian pharmaceutical business, Istituto Gentili, which developed a treatment for the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck. It was purchased by Merck in 1997.

Carla Riccitelli, who was also interviewed in the film, is Gunther’s handler and Mian’s "ex-partner."

"As interesting and eccentric Maurizio is, he has surrounded himself over the years with people who have added to his eccentricity and went with different parts of his story," said Leturgie. "Each of them was really fun and exciting to interview. That was probably one of the things that surprised us every time we sat down and met a new person for an interview."

Leturgie admitted that it’s "difficult for us to know" if Mian and his family are still hiding secrets.

"Every good story has secrets," he said. "But I think we’ve done everything we could to reveal everything we’ve learned. But with Maurizio, you never know. That’s the beauty of it."

"I think Maurizio is looking for happiness," he continued. "I believe this story of the countess and the son and all these elements, all these great chapters of his life, have been his way to surround himself with people and keep him motivated, entertained. I think that helps him find happiness. … But as wealthy as Maurizio is, money can’t buy happiness."

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Leturgie believes that Gunther is indeed the richest dog in the world.

"If you go by the publications, Gunther is always at the top of the list," he said. "With Gunther being the beneficiary of the trust and the trust having all that money, then yes, Gunther is the richest dog in the world. Whether the money comes from the countess or the money comes from the Mian family, that still makes Gunther the beneficiary. Therefore, Gunther is the richest dog in the world."

"And it’s not the end of the story," Dumay added.