The best preparation for mastering Formula 1 for almost five decades was the used car trade. However, in the mid-sixties, the store initially didn’t really want to take off in the London suburb where Bernie Ecclestone started out as a salesman. At least not until he got into business with a certain Justin de Villeneuve over a lime green Lamborghini Miura. The trained hairdresser had recently taken over the management of his girlfriend – and made her, Twiggy, the first supermodel in history. When word of the Lambo’s prominence got around, many capital city residents made a pilgrimage to the Ecclestone showroom to satisfy their need for recognition for a little more money.
The car dealer Ecclestone, at the time also manager of the Formula 1 driver Jochen Rindt, took over the Brabham racing team a little later and shortly afterwards invented the overall marketing of the premier class. This turned into a billion-dollar business, including for him personally, until he was removed from power in 2017. Until then, Ecclestone had relied on handshake deals, just as Enzo Ferrari had taught him: “On the surface we play sports, but under the table the deals are done.”
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Since then he has rarely been seen in the paddock; the 94-year-old enjoys life with his wife Fabiana, who is 46 years his junior, and their four-year-old son Ace in his chalet in Gstaad or on the farm near Sao Paulo. How rich he really became through Formula 1 can only be guessed at. His former wife Slavica was awarded almost a billion euros in her divorce in 2009. Forbes still estimates his total assets at around 2.3 billion euros. So it can’t be about money if he’s now putting his private racing car collection on the market.
Ecclestone knows what his rolling motorsport history is worth
It includes 69 automotive treasures, something like this has never come onto the market before. Ecclestone had already started buying legendary racing cars in the 1970s. These include a particularly large number of Ferrari cars: winning cars from Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda, Alberto Ascari and Mike Hawthorn, but also legendary pre-war cars from Auto Union, Bugatti and Mercedes. The estimated value is 362 million euros.
Not that the Brit suddenly found himself in financial trouble; his last tax payment amounted to 756 million euros at the end of 2023. It’s pure caring. Loud Daily Mail He wants to sort out his affairs so that after his death (“I certainly won’t live to see my son’s wedding”), his widow won’t still be stuck with the old cars. Finally tidying up the garage seems to be a popular topic even in billionaire households.
Perhaps out of his old sympathy for his trained profession, Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t take care of it himself, but lets a dealer handle the business. Tom Hartley Junior was already involved in his father’s car dealership in central England at the age of eleven, is considered the first address for historic sports cars and advertises with a noble promise: “The automobile market is a complex world in which an expert, guiding hand is sometimes useful.” Collector Ecclestone does not want the devotional items to be auctioned off, as happened with Michael Schumacher’s last Ferrari (initial bid 14 million euros).
Bernie Ecclestone knows what his rolling motorsport history is worth: “My passion has always been Grand Prix cars. I always bought the best copies. They are more important than any road car, they are the pinnacle of sport. I love them all.” And because they are so dear to him, he also wants to know where they are: “Transparency is important to me.” If that’s true, it seems to be a form of leniency in old age.
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