06 April 2023 , 12:44
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Mercedes may be struggling for consistency in recent times, but team principal Toto Wolff continues to prove himself a monetary master after achieving billionaire status.
That's according to Forbes, who now value the Austrian investor and motorsport enthusiast at $1billion (around £800m) after enjoying sustained success in Formula 1 and beyond. That sees Wolff level with NBA legend LeBron James (also $1bn) and golf icon Tiger Woods ($1.1bn), each of whom are now valued at 10 figures.
Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' series is credited with steering this fresh wave of fortune for Wolff despite the fact Mercedes' results have plateaued over the past year or so. A new global audience is tuning into F1 after the show became such a streaming hit, with Wolff apparently enjoying a windfall as a result.
Much of that will be due to the fact that not only is the 51-year-old team principal in Brackley, but he also boasts a 33 percent share in Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Ltd. That's on top of the 0.95 percent stake he holds in Aston Martin Lagonda, which generated revenue just shy of £1.4bn in 2022.
However, Wolff's first dip into F1 waters came with Williams in 2009 when he became a minority stakeholder with the British manufacturer and joined its board of directors. That share in the company had grown to 15 percent by 2012 when he was named executive director, which also happened to be the last year Williams won a race in F1.
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Mercedes team principal and major stakeholder Toto Wolff has achieved billionaire status (AFP via Getty Images)He soon moved to Mercedes and helped drive the team to supremacy in the early stages of F1's turbo hybrid days, winning eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles after bringing Lewis Hamilton on board. Wolff has also served as director for Mercedes' EQ outfit in Formula E, which produced back-to-back world titles in 2021 and 2022.
Having made his start in business investing in internet and technology companies, Wolff's portfolio has become more exclusively linked with motorsport over time.
For all the success he's enjoyed to date, however, Wolff's mentality towards life suggests the only way remains up for the entrepreneur. In fact, Mercedes' maligned form of late may just inspire the team's next era of dominance while under his command.
Wolff and Lewis Hamilton have come a long way since winning one race (Hungary) in their debut seasons with Mercedes a decade ago (Hoch Zwei/Corbis via Getty Images)“I don’t see myself at that stage of my life as somebody that has been successful and that has achieved his targets, and that it’s kind of half time in an entrepreneurial life," he told the High Performance Podcast in 2021. "I’m not a sportsman where your first career ends at 35.
"I’m just right there, and hopefully if I’m healthy, I can go another 30 years or 40 years. I wouldn’t like to summarize now and say what made you successful. Well, let’s have the conversation in 30 years.”