Prinz von Anhalt was born Marcus Frank Adolf Eberhardt on 20 December 1966, in Pforzheim, Germany, allegedly to a wealthy family.
Prinz von Anhalt claims his parents owned a jewelry store, before their business was declared bankrupt and the family lost vast amounts of their wealth.
[citation needed] Eberhardt further diversified his organization by opening several table-dance bars and gentlemen's clubs in the United States.
[1] In particular, the prosecution accused von Anhalt that he declared the private usage of his 14[1] luxury cars (all of a value of at least 1 Million Euros[1]) and vacations in Las Vegas as professional and business expenditures towards the tax authorities.
Von Anhalt had declared previously that "he does not see a criminal offense in his case"[1] and that the sums he supposedly evaded from tax authorities are "petty"[1] and "ridiculous"[1] given that "his brothels and disco clubs generate revenues in the two digit million range.
He owns a private zoo in Dubai, where several wild animals such as tigers or white lions, are kept under poor conditions and are treated as toys.
[10] In August 2023, von Anhalt posted a video on Instagram that showed him hitting his pet tortoise by kicking a soccer ball at it.
[11] Because of this animal abuse, the District Court Frankfurt sentenced von Anhalt to a 400,000 Euro fine and also forbade him to personally hold any pets for at least three years.