Gunther's Millions: Is it a true story, where is Lucy Clarkson now, Gunther IV, who is Maurizio Mian

Gunther's Millions tells the story of a German shepherd who inherited $400 million from a mysterious countess. Cr: Netflix

It wouldn’t be a new month on Netflix without a bizarre documentary – and it appears that Gunther’s Millions is the latest in a long line of mindblowing true life tales from the streamer.

In 2022 we had barely believable tales such as Bad Vegan, Inventing Anna and The Tinder Swindler and now comes along a story that is potentially the wildest and most outlandish Netflix documentary yet, with ‘Gunther’s Millions’ set to tell the tale of a millionaire German Shepherd. No, really.

Here’s everything you need to know about the documentary and the characters it focuses on.

Here are 11 of the best new release TV series coming to Netflix UK in February

What is Gunther’s Millions about?

Gunther’s Millions tells the bizarre tale of Gunther IV, a German Shepherd dog that inherited millions of dollars when his owner died and left him a ‘trust fund’.

As per the Netflix synopsis: “For the last three decades, the dog’s riches have been built into a vast empire across two continents, including luxurious mansions, a glamorous entourage, and even a pop music group. But as any good pup can tell you, it’s always worth digging a little deeper.”

When is Gunther’s Millions released on Netflix

Netflix’s new documentary series will be launched on February 1, with the series available to stream at 8.01am in the UK.

To watch the series you must have a Netflix subscription, which can be purchased here with prices starting at £4.99.

How did Gunther IV earn his millions?

In short, she was a German countess who had a multi-million dollar fortune. Leibenstein did not have any children and was very close to her pet dogs throughout her life before she passed in 1992.

When she died, Leibenstein had no close family to inherit her fortune, so instead she made sure her pet German Shepherd – who was called Gunther III – would be taken care of for the rest of his days, leaving her entire $80 million dollar fortune solely to him. Sadly, Gunther III died shortly afterwards meaning his inheritance was passed to his son, Gunther IV – which the series focuses on.

The dog was then put into the care of family friend Maurizio Mian. He was given the task of managing the dog’s estate and employed around 30 people in order to take care of pampered pooch.

Gunther’s fortune reportedly increased to approximately $373 million when his alleged ‘caretaker’ accumulated further wealth through further investments and other revenue streams.

Interestingly, the average lifespan of German Shepherd is between 10 to 13 years, but Gunther IV was reported to be 28 years old – and due to this many believe Gunther IV is actually a completely different dog.

Who is Maurizio Mian

Mian is an Italian entrepreneur and pharmaceutical heir who is the CEO of The Gunther Corporation. However, that is not where the story ends.

The ‘caretaker’ of a weathly line of German Shepherds that had been left a £400m fortune by German Countess Karlotta Liebenstein when she died in 1992, Mian is reportedly a known eccentric that has spent 30 years of his life allegedly cultivating the story of Gunther IV and the $400 million ‘trust fund’.

Across the globe, Mian has convinced a number of reporters who were taken by his story, while he claims to have made numerous huge purchases including a football club, a nightclub in Pisa and Madonna’s mansion in the United States – all based on the dying wish of Carlotta Liebenstein who had reportedly insisted the money was placed in trust controlled by Mian's family, on condition it could only be used to invest in sports teams.

Where is Lucy Clarkson now

One of the star’s of the documentary is the canine’s public relations advisor Lucy Clarkson. Born in the English city of Rotherham, she found work in the United States at Elite Model Agency in the mid 90s and after various successful ventures ended in up in the world of PR, where she helped Mian and his millionaire dog.

It is hard to decipher where she is now 100%, but it appears she is still based Stateside and lives in Miami, Florida for over a decade. Still working as a model and public figure and has over 30k followers on her Instagram page @reallucyclarkson. She is a patron of Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad and a spokesperson against beauty standards.

She hence still holds her position as a model, public figure, and on-air personality, all the while maintaining the title of Marketing & Communications Vice President at Accord Productions.

She even released a single back in 2015 alongside rapper Fat Joe, titled ‘Royalty’.

So… is Gunther’s Millions a true story

The point of the Netflix documentary is discover if Maurizio Mian’s claims are true.

Previously, the Daily Mail has reported that the dog’s fortune is an elaborate and long running ‘prank’ that was pieced together by Mian as part of a ‘social experiment’.

The report states that Mian appears to have made up the tale of Gunther and his alleged million dollar cash injection. He has previously stated he worked for a family line of German Shepherds, each of them going by the name Gunther. However, there is no evidence to verify the reports

Mian was allegedly using this exposure to attract the press so he could promote his real estate deals and other business ventures. It’s also alleged that he told an Italian publication he had invented the story of Lievenstein in order to help “publicise the philosophy of his foundation."

So it appears the story of Gunther IV and his $400 million fortune may be a little far fetched.