Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone is a British business magnate, motorsport powerbroker, and former racing driver. To the world’s press, he became known simply as the “F1 Supremo”, the man who transformed a collection of oil-stained garages into a global, billion-dollar spectacle. Founder of the Formula One Group in 1987, Ecclestone held the commercial reins of Formula One until 2017, shaping not just how it was raced, but how the world watched it.

Nationality	British
Born	Bernard Charles Ecclestone 28 October 1930 (age 95) St Peter South Elmham, Suffolk, England

Born in rural Suffolk and raised in suburban Bexleyheath, Ecclestone began hustling early. After World War II, he started trading motorcycle parts, turning mechanical scraps into profit. By 1949, he was behind the wheel himself, racing in Formula Three and notching up wins at Brands Hatch in his Cooper Mk V. His admission into Formula One as a private entrant came in 1958 with two Connaught Type B chassis, though he failed to qualify for both the Monaco and British Grands Prix. A pragmatic man, Ecclestone swapped the cockpit for the clipboard, managing drivers Stuart Lewis-Evans and, later, Jochen Rindt, who would tragically win the 1970 World Drivers’ Championship posthumously.

In 1972, Ecclestone bought the Brabham team for £100,000 and ran it for 15 years, leading it to 22 Grand Prix victories and two World Drivers’ Championships with Nelson Piquet. Two years later, he co-founded the Formula One Constructors’ Association (FOCA), steering it through the notorious FISA–FOCA war — the political battle that would ultimately cement his control over the sport’s commercial future.

His empire grew rapidly from the late 1970s, when he began selling television rights for Formula One — a visionary move that turned the paddock into a global media machine. By 1987, under the Concorde Agreement, Ecclestone and his companies controlled not only the sport’s revenues, but the organisation of every Grand Prix. He later branched into rallying, founding International Sportsworld Communicators in 1996 to oversee the World Rally Championship’s commercial rights. By 2002, he ranked fifth on the Sunday Times Rich List — and had famously turned down both a CBE and a knighthood.

Never one to sit still, Ecclestone co-owned Queens Park Rangers Football Club with Flavio Briatore from 2007 to 2011, guiding them into the Premier League. In 2017, he sold Formula One to Liberty Media, staying on briefly as chairman emeritus until stepping away in 2020.

Over four decades, Ecclestone’s reign was never dull — a blend of brilliance, audacity, and controversy. In 2020, aged 89, he welcomed the birth of his son, making him one of the oldest new fathers in history. Three years later, he was convicted of tax fraud, agreeing to pay over £650 million to HMRC. He received a 17-month suspended sentence — a dramatic twist in a life already rich with them.

Early Life

Bernie Ecclestone was born on 28 October 1930 in the hamlet of St Peter South Elmham, just south of Bungay, Suffolk. His father, Sidney, was a fisherman; his mother, Bertha Sophia (née Westley), kept the household afloat. After attending primary school in Wissett, the family moved in 1938 to Danson Road, Bexleyheath, in southeast London.

During World War II, while many children were evacuated, young Bernie stayed put with his family — perhaps the first sign of his stubborn independence. He left Dartford West Central Secondary School at 16, landing a job testing gas purity at the local gasworks and studying chemistry part-time at Woolwich Polytechnic. But the lure of speed soon overtook the safety of the lab: motorcycles became his passion, and his business instincts began to rev.

Motorsports Career

Early Career

In the post-war years, Ecclestone dived into commerce, trading motorcycle spares and later co-founding Compton & Ecclestone, a motorcycle dealership. Racing was the next logical step. In 1949, he began competing in the 500cc Formula Three series, purchasing a Cooper Mk V in 1951. Though he raced mainly at his local track, Brands Hatch, he was no slouch — taking podiums and the occasional victory.

A series of hefty crashes persuaded him to park his helmet and focus on making money. As he would later prove, Bernie was far more dangerous with a contract than with a steering wheel.

Team Ownership

After stepping back from driving, Ecclestone built a small fortune through shrewd property deals and loan financing, before dipping back into motorsport management. He guided the career of Stuart Lewis-Evans and bought two ex-Connaught Formula One cars, entering them at Monaco and Silverstone in 1958. His own attempt to qualify was brief — “not a serious effort,” as one account put it — but it set him on a path that would redefine the sport.

Lewis-Evans’ fatal accident at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix devastated him, and he again retreated from racing. But the pull was irresistible. Partnering with driver Roy Salvadori, Ecclestone became manager to the prodigiously talented Jochen Rindt, part-owning his 1970 Formula 2 team. Rindt’s death at Monza was another cruel blow, though his posthumous title secured Ecclestone’s place in the sport’s inner circle.

Brabham

In 1971, Ecclestone bought the Brabham team from Ron Tauranac for £100,000. Tauranac stayed briefly, but two strong personalities couldn’t share one paddock, and Ecclestone soon had full control. He shuttered Brabham’s customer-car business to focus entirely on the top tier — betting everything on the future of Formula One.

He promoted a young South African designer named Gordon Murray, whose daring BT42 and BT44 designs delivered multiple wins in 1974–75. Though a switch to Alfa Romeo engines in 1976 proved disastrous — the cars were overweight and unreliable — Ecclestone bounced back, hiring Niki Lauda and achieving renewed success with the radical BT46 “fan car.”

In 1979, Nelson Piquet arrived, marking the start of a defining partnership. With BMW turbo power and Murray’s engineering genius, Brabham won World Championships in 1981 and 1983. By the time Ecclestone sold the team in 1988 for over $5 million (after buying it for just $120,000), he had turned it into both a technical innovator and a business powerhouse.

Formula One Executive

In 1974, alongside Frank Williams, Colin Chapman, Teddy Mayer, Ken Tyrrell, and Max Mosley, Ecclestone co-founded the Formula One Constructors’ Association (FOCA). By 1978 he was its chief executive, with Mosley as legal counsel. Together, they went to war with the FIA’s Jean-Marie Balestre in the infamous FISA–FOCA showdown — a boardroom brawl that determined who controlled Formula One’s destiny.

Ecclestone emerged as the clear victor, securing the right to negotiate television deals through Formula One Promotions and Administration (FOPA). The revenue split was clever — 47% to teams, 30% to the FIA, and 23% to FOPA — but it was Bernie’s mastery of the fine print that made him the sport’s de facto ruler.

He also championed safety, hiring Professor Sid Watkins in 1978 as Formula One’s first official medical officer. Watkins’ push for improved standards, backed by Ecclestone’s funding, helped save countless lives in the years to follow.

Though his business empire faced legal battles, boardroom coups, and the occasional public outrage, Ecclestone’s control remained absolute. Even when a 2004 High Court ruling favoured creditor banks over his companies, Bernie shrugged and said it meant “nothing at all.” And he was right — within weeks he had struck fresh deals that left him still running the show.

By the time Liberty Media took over in 2017, Ecclestone had ruled Formula One for more than 40 years, surviving heart surgery, scandals, and shifting political tides. He left the helm as chairman emeritus, a title that suggested retirement but really meant: still watching, always scheming.

Other Activies

Ecclestone’s commercial curiosity was never confined to Formula One. In 1996 he founded International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), acquiring exclusive TV rights for 18 FIA championships, including rallying. When EU regulators came knocking, he sold ISC in 2000 to a consortium led by David Richards — at a handsome profit.

He was also known for his unfiltered tongue. After Danica Patrick’s near-historic Indianapolis 500 in 2005, he caused uproar with a sexist remark — but later sent her a handwritten note of congratulations after her 2008 win in Japan. In 2010, he even joined a bid to rescue Saab Automobile, proving that Bernie’s business instincts never idled.

Queens Park Rangers

Football briefly became Ecclestone’s playground when, in 2007, he and Flavio Briatore bought Queens Park Rangers FC. Later joined by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, the trio turned QPR into one of the wealthiest clubs in the Championship. By 2011, Ecclestone had sold his 62% stake to Tony Fernandes, just as the club returned to the Premier League — another tidy profit secured.

Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection

Ecclestone’s personal car collection was as outrageous as his career — 69 Formula One machines spanning decades of racing history. Among them: a Ferrari 375 F1, a Brabham BT46B “fan car,” and a Maserati 250F. The collection was valued at around £500 million, making it one of the most valuable private motorsport archives in existence. Eventually, it passed into the hands of Mark Mateschitz, heir to the Red Bull empire — a fitting continuation for a legacy built on speed and spectacle.

Bernie Ecclestone’s story is one of contradictions: part street trader, part statesman; part visionary, part villain. He turned Formula One into a global empire and himself into a billionaire. Whether hailed as a genius or reviled as a dictator, he remains one of motorsport’s most formidable figures — the man who put the business into racing and the world onto the grid.