Felix Baumgartner: Stratosphere pioneer and politically polarizing cross-border traveler

Born on April 20, 1969, in Salzburg, Baumgartner initially trained as a car mechanic. He served in the Austrian Armed Forces for five years – but he never got along well with authority. He was soon drawn to the skies: His passion for base jumping took him to the Millennium Tower in Vienna , the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, Taipei 101 , and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur , among other places. Later, he crossed the English Channel with carbon wings – without an engine, using only muscle power and wind. Baumgartner was a modern-day Icarus, getting closer to the sun than anyone else – and still landing safely.

What was largely unknown outside of Austria : Baumgartner was not only an extreme athlete, but also politically controversial. Ever since the 2016 presidential election, when he publicly supported the FPÖ candidate Norbert Hofer, it became clear that he was also ideologically ready to make the leap. In a climate where celebrities mostly sympathize with left-wing parties (or otherwise simply remain silent), his commitment to the right was a taboo.

Hofer thanked him posthumously on Thursday – as did FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl , who praised him as a "passionate patriot." Further expressions of grief came from other Freedom Party members – but they would remain the only ones that day. One of the most famous sons of the Alpine Republic had died, but Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Andreas Babler (SPÖ), and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen (formerly of the Green Party) remained silent.

Baumgartner's reputation in the political and media spheres had been severely damaged since 2016. His critical statements on migration policy, the European Union, and most recently the coronavirus pandemic polarized opinion—not least because he frequently adopted right-wing populist narratives and often resorted to typical barroom rhetoric. He also expressed sympathetic views toward the Identitarian movement. He regularly took sharp jabs at the media; for example, he called journalist Florian Klenk a "complete idiot"—for which he was convicted of defamation in 2024. Baumgartner always described himself as a patriot and emphasized that he was not a racist. For critics—especially from the left—he quickly became persona non grata.

In Germany, he engaged in a verbal exchange with satirist Jan Böhmermann . Back in 2012, the satirist mocked the stratospheric jump, and in 2016, he declared that Baumgartner had "fallen from outer space directly into the right-wing corner." Böhmermann countered, calling Böhmermann a "system clown" and a "clown."

Baumgartner's life was always a balancing act between triumph and collapse. The fact that his final fall led into a hotel pool seems macabre – almost like a caricature of his life, yet bitterly serious. He last lived in Switzerland because of a tax dispute with the Austrian tax authorities. Felix Baumgartner was a man who always dared to jump – even when others would have long since recoiled. He was uncomfortable, emotional, controversial – and unforgettable. For some, he would have been better off keeping quiet more often; for others, he was a hero who crossed the right boundaries. In the end, what remains is: "I am going home now." The words he spoke in the stratosphere have now become bitter truth. Felix Baumgartner has finally come home – to the place where free fall ends.

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