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New track
for Bernie - 28/11/02
Bernie Ecclestone has given the
green light for a Grand Prix track to be made in Istanbul. The target
is for it be completed by 2005.
'I have decided upon Istanbul,' Formula One Management chief Bernie
Ecclestone told the Turkish motorsport federation in a letter last
week. 'Now we need to finalise the commercial issues and the TV
rights.'
Bargain Sale at £50 million - 20/11/01
Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has been revealed as the new owner
of the £85 million pound house for sale on Kensington Palace Gardens.
He maintains his reputation as one of Britain's top business men
by getting it for the knockdown price of £50 million.
read more
Bernie Ecclestone was born in 1930 in Ipswich, England. His father
was the captain of a trawler. He quit school at the age of 16 to
devote himself fully to his greatest passion: automobile racing.
After several accidents, Bernie Ecclestone stopped competing in
1951. He opted instead to start a used car business and returned
to the race track in 1957, but this time as a F1 team manager for
Connaught.
In 1972, he bought the Brabham team, which earned Nelson Piquet
the world championship in 1981 and 1983. Bernie Ecclestone owes
his greatest success, however, to his control over Grand Prix media
rights.
In the 80s, he took on the financial risks as president of the Formula
One Constructors Association. A risk that paid off, since media
coverage has slowly but surely built up, drawing with it sponsors
and substantial profit. Ecclestone sold the Brabham team in 1988.
Two years later, he moved to Gstaad, the posh ski resort in the
Bernese Oberland. In 1996, he created a new company, Formula One
Management, which sells F1 broadcasting rights for the International
Automobile Association, located in Geneva.
Bernie Ecclestone has many other projects in the pipeline, such
as a pay TV channel. From atop his Bernese tax domicile, he manages
an estimated fortune of over 4 billion CHF, making him the wealthiest
person in England - outdoing even the Queen.
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