However, Graf did not want to continue his parents' business, a butcher's shop with a pub and a few guest rooms in Perchtoldsdorf.
[3][4] His first success came in 1982, when he founded a sales company in Switzerland and soon dominated 70% of the Swiss market.
As a result, the company grew to become one of the largest integrated gaming groups in the world with around 30,000 employees in 2021.
[5][3] Alongside Dietrich Mateschitz and Karl Wlaschek, Graf is considered one of Austria's most successful self-made billionaires.
[7] In the 2024 Forbes ranking he was the third richest Austrian,[8] with an estimated net worth of $7.1 billion.