Bernie Ecclestone is the 86-year-old billionaire who created the “Formula 1”. In versions of various publications, his fortune is estimated to be between $2.5 and 4 billion. His brilliant ability to earn money is legendary. Perhaps the most vivid illustration of his ability to make money out of thin air can be found in 2010, when car-park muggers battered and robbed him of watches worth about £200,000. Bernie was not taken aback and was photographed directly with a black eye. A week later, he started a new advertising campaign for an expensive watch brand, whose slogan read, “See what people will do for a Hublot”.

Bernie has always been a workhorse. Even at age 78, the owner of Formula 1 continues to put on the best show in the world, according to Tatler Magazine. By the time that he wed Brazilian Fabiana Flosi (his third marriage) in 2012, he had been the head of “F-1” for more than 46 years. Last year, attackers kidnapped his wife’s mother, demanding a ransom of $36 million. In the end, the victim did not suffer and the money remained in the family. The kidnappers eventually went to jail.

Previous to his present marriage, his marriage to former model Slavica Radic lasted 25 years and was destroyed, according to the London Court, by the reckless behaviour of Bernie. The hearing lasted less than a minute and neither of the spouses attended the event. Strangely, it has been shown that the ex-wife is paying Bernie upwards of £60 million, even though she was initially awarded $1.2 billion, as part of the 2009 settlement. Bernie and Slavica looked very colourful together, with a 30 cm height difference (his height is just 1.59m). That did not bother either one of them, it seemed.

“Royal races” without a king
Perhaps, 2017 did not begin with great success. Bernie Ecclestone, a man-legend, with more than 40 years as head of the greatest race on the planet, was leaving the helm of Formula 1. The series was purchased by the U.S. company Liberty Media Corporation and billionaire John Malone. The new owners, paying a sizeable sum, have obtained all rights to the direction of the Formula One Group. The post that Ecclestone occupied went to Chase Carey and the post of managing director of motorsport, in turn, went to former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn.

Career
Bernie was always attracted to car racing. At first, he was a little dove’ himself, launching his career in Formula 3 in 1949. Later, he even acquired a Cooper Mk V race car. Periodically, he held high positions and eventually won. Sadly, it was over quickly after he collided with another rider and flew over the track. Such risks were not part of his plans. For a while, Ecclestone retired from racing and went into profitable real estate transactions. As well, his company, Weekend Car Auctions, brought good revenues.

After some time, he came back to Formula One to invest in the Connaught and his friend, Stuart Lewis-Evans. Soon, the team changed its name. Everything was fine until the moment when, during the Moroccan Grand Prix in 1958, the motor blew up in the car as Lewis-Evans was driving. He received severe burns and died. Ecclestone was very shocked and left motorsports once again.

Ecclestone returned after 10 years, becoming the manager of another successful Austrian driver, Johan Rindt. Safety was still an issue for competition organizers, as drivers were often maimed and killed. Soon thereafter, due to technical problems with the engine, Rindt crashed on the track in Monza. He became the only driver in history to receive a title posthumously. This time, Ecclestone refused to give into his emotions and he stayed in the business of auto racing. The enterprising Brit, in 1972, bought the Brabham team for the “ridiculous” amount of £25,000. Eventually, Ecclestone was to realise an exponential return on his investment that brought great wealth and power. After 16 years, Ecclestone sold Brabham to Alfa Romeo for fifty times his original payment. He had far-reaching plans for his future by this time. Gradually, along with his constant partner, Max Mosley, he was able to begin to unite the teams and they created the Formula One Constructors’ Association (FOCA). It was during the reign of Ecclestone that the golden age of Formula One began. Along with drivers like Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher came flourishing turbo-charged engines and superior electronics. As well, they began to offer lucrative TV rights to broadcasters. Racing did begin to attract a wide television audience, comparable to other major sporting events, like the Olympics or World Championships.

It is believed that one of the most important episodes in the history of Formula One, in terms of television popularity, was the Japanese Grand Prix of 1976. It decided the fate of the world title, as Briton James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda fought it out on the track. Lauda, just a few months prior, had almost lost his life in a horrific crash. It was at that moment that all the television channels of the world wanted to show the Grand Prix, but Bernie made a condition that they would have to buy the rights to the championship. “In those years, Formula One was organized as a dictatorship”, according to the film “One: Life on the Limit”. Many questioned Ecclestone’s decision to start the race despite heavy rain, exposing drivers to serious danger.

For Bernie, one of the biggest tragedies in motor racing was to happen during the Grand Prix of San Marino, in 1994. Triple world champion, Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna crashed violently, scattering fragments of his car everywhere and injuring spectators. One of them died. A few years later, in an interview, Ecclestone shocked the public by saying that the death of Senna “was good for Formula One”, explaining his words by saying that the death of the three-time champion on the track has attracted a huge number of new fans and returned to racing its former popularity. Bernie Ecclestone is simply used to saying what he thinks. One day, he called Adolf Hitler an effective manager and then said that Putin was quite able to manage Europe and America, but we “only need to wait”. Concerning women, Ecclestone stated that women drivers are not physically able to compete, cannot drive a car fast and would never be taken seriously (women are allowed to participate in Formula One racing). He even said that women should all be dressed in white, “as is the case with all other domestic appliances”. One more than one occasion, Ecclestone was required to apologise for his crassness.

Epilogue
For the new owners of Formula One, there are big plans to augment the company’s capitalization. They plan to increase the entertainment value, to change the rules and to greatly promote F-1 in the United States. The potential for development and growth, according to their estimates, is huge. Immediately after Ecclestone left F-1, according to various authoritative sources, it became clear that the “great” Bernie was not going to give up. He laid plans to organise an alternative racing series by 2019. In his usual elusive style, Bernie (according to Reuters) denied all of the gossip, saying:

“I want to dispel the rumours that I plan to create a series to compete with Formula-One. I built this championship for nearly 50 years. I am proud of it and the last thing that I want to do is hurt it. I am very touched by the support and grateful to all who have dealt with me all of these years”. Some things are difficult to predict. The fact remains that Ecclestone has earned his retirement and he still made $28 million by selling shares to the new owners of the Liberty series. These were the shares that he received in the transaction for the sale of Formula One. We may not have seen the last of Ecclestone, though…You never know!