In 1531, Ferdinand I of the powerful Habsburg dynasty became the King of Germany, Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor. His grandson, also called Ferdinand, inherited the same titles in 1619, followed by his son, Ferdinand III, in 1636.
The Habsburgs were in their golden age, but it didn't last. The next Ferdinand suffered from a variety of serious medical conditions and was forced to abdicate his throne in 1848. Even less lucky was Franz Ferdinand, who famously caught an assassin's bullet in 1914. Four years later, the Habsburgs, minus a Ferdinand, lost their empire for good when Austria dethroned and exiled them.
More than a century later, the Habsburgs are still around and there's even another Ferdinand, albeit one with a very different life than the ones who came before him. Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard von Habsburg-Lothringen, heir apparent to the royal House of Habsburg-Lorraine, is 25 years old and shares a Vienna apartment with his sister, although his net worth is estimated at $5 million. On occasion, he goes for long runs around the vast Schonbrunn Palace, where the Habsburgs once spent each summer. These days, he has to pay the entry fee to get in like anyone else.
In theory, he's an archduke of Austria and a royal prince of Hungary, but the titles don't mean much when the throne no longer exists. Not that he minds — without an empire to inherit, he's free to pursue his real passion: motor sports, specifically long endurance races that can last as long as 24 hours. And he's good at it, if his 2021 victory at the prestigious Le Mans race in France is any indication.
Being a Habsburg still comes with some perks, Ferdinand said in an interview with the New York Times. With around 600 Habsburgs scattered around the world and a group chat to connect them, he can almost always crash with a relative when he travels — no palaces required.
