[4] In 1953, Karl Wlaschek opened a perfumery in the Margareten district of Vienna and offered brand-name products at discount prices.

Wlaschek transferred the concept to the grocery business, introduced the self-service system and named his stores BILLA (for "Billiger Laden" – "Cheap Shop") in 1961.

[6] After failing to get in on the privatization of Creditanstalt (then the second largest bank in Austria), Wlaschek began investing his wealth in real estate.

[7] He owned eight palaces in the center of Vienna (including Kinsky, Ferstel, and Harrach), but also the Andromeda Tower and the Ares Tower (both part of Donau City), the former building of the Vienna Stock Exchange, and numerous other buildings in the city center.

[3] In November 2005, Adolf Haslinger, former rector of the University of Salzburg and a long-standing friend of Wlaschek, published an authorized biography.