Mateschitz was born in Sankt Marein im Mürztal, Styria, Austria, to a family of Slovene-Styrian or Croatian ancestry — both parents were school teachers. He attended the Hochschule für Welthandel, now Vienna University of Economics and Business, where after ten years he graduated with a marketing degree in 1972.
After graduating, Mateschitz worked in marketing for Unilever, selling detergents, before joining German cosmetics company Blendax. Travelling for Blendax to Bangkok, he purchased a bottle of Krating Daeng, a Thai energy drink, and found it cured his jet lag. Recognising a commercial opportunity in Europe for such a product, he struck a partnership deal with Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya, who owned the Krating Daeng brand.
In 1984 Mateschitz and Yoovidhya co-founded Red Bull GmbH, with Mateschitz holding 49 per cent. After approximately three years refining the formula, the drink was launched in Austria in 1987 under the new Red Bull name. It went on to become the world's leading energy drink by volume.
Mateschitz entered Formula One sponsorship via Sauber, holding more than 60 per cent of that team for a period, but ended the relationship after the 2001 season when Sauber signed Kimi Räikkönen as a driver rather than Red Bull protege Enrique Bernoldi.
In November 2004 Mateschitz acquired the failing Jaguar Racing Formula One team from Ford for one dollar. He renamed it Red Bull Racing for the 2005 season, appointed Christian Horner as team principal, and subsequently recruited Adrian Newey as technical director on a reported salary of US$10 million. The team's trajectory improved steadily and produced historic results: Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for sister team Toro Rosso; his 2009 Chinese Grand Prix win was Red Bull Racing's first. From 2010 through 2013, Red Bull Racing won the Formula One World Constructors Championship and Vettel won the Drivers Championship each year — four consecutive doubles.
After a lean period from 2014 through 2020 as Mercedes dominated the turbo-hybrid era, Red Bull's switch to Honda power in 2019 proved transformative. Max Verstappen won the Drivers Championship in 2021, with Verstappen retaining the title in 2022 — the final season Mateschitz oversaw before his death.
In September 2005 Mateschitz and former Formula One driver Gerhard Berger jointly purchased the Minardi team from Australian owner Paul Stoddart. Renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006, it later became Scuderia AlphaTauri and then Racing Bulls.
Mateschitz also purchased the former A1-Ring racing circuit in late 2004, renaming it the Red Bull Ring. The circuit reopened in May 2011 and returned to the Formula One calendar for the Austrian Grand Prix from 2014.
From 2006 to 2011 Red Bull operated a NASCAR team, Team Red Bull, competing in the Sprint Cup Series and the K&N Pro Series East.
In April 2005 Mateschitz acquired Austrian club SV Austria Salzburg and rebranded it FC Red Bull Salzburg. In March 2006 he bought American soccer team MetroStars, renaming them the New York Red Bulls. He founded Red Bull Brasil in 2007, acquired Clube Atletico Bragantino in 2019, and in May 2009 founded RB Leipzig by purchasing an amateur club's licence; the team rose from the fifth tier of German football to the Bundesliga by 2016 and reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2020. He also owned ice hockey clubs EC Red Bull Salzburg and EHC Red Bull München.
Mateschitz died on 22 October 2022 at his home in St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Austria, following a long illness involving pancreatic cancer. He was 78. At the time of his death his net worth was estimated at US$27.4 billion. The Red Bull Powertrains power unit programme, established under his leadership to supply Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls from 2026 onward, was subsequently named in his honour.