| Date of birth | April 12, 1950 (72 years old) |
| Born in | Verzuolo, Italy |
| nationality | Italy |
| profession | Sports manager, industrial manager, Formula 1 team boss |
| children | 2 (Leni Klum, Nathan Falco Briatore) |
How rich is Flavio Briatore?
Flavio Briatore is known to many people mainly because of two things: In 1994 and 1995 he made Michael Schumacher the Formula 1 World Champion as Benetton’s team boss. And then in 2003, he had a brief relationship with Heidi Klum , which resulted in Leni Klum. But Briatore is also a very successful businessman and entrepreneur. Flavio Briatore ‘s estimated net worth is €375 million .
Flavio Briatore net worth
Flavio Briatore earned much of his fortune as head of the American operations of fashion brand Benetton in the 1980s. In 1989 there were around 800 Benetton stores in the US alone. His work as team boss in Formula 1 also brought him large incomes – first from 1989 to 1997 at Benetton Formula and then from 2001 to 2009 at Renault F1.
In addition, Briatore was and is active in various business fields. In 1998 he opened the Billionaires Nightclub in Sardinia . In 2012 a club was added in Marbella. Briatore also founded the fashion brand Billionaire Italian Couture. In 2004 he opened Cipriani’s restaurant in London. He also owns a beach club in Tuscany and a holiday resort in Kenya. These ventures further increase the millionaire’s fortune. In 2007 he, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal bought the English football club Queens Park Rangers. Briatore was president of the club until 2010 and co-owner until 2011.
Early business activities
After leaving school, Flavio Briatore trained as a surveyor, but never worked in this job. Instead, he initially earned his money as a ski instructor. He also opened a restaurant, which he soon had to close due to financial difficulties. In the 1970s, Briatore became the assistant to entrepreneur Attilio Dutto. After the latter’s death in an attack on his car , Briatore worked for the Milan Stock Exchange . There he met Luciano Benetton, the founder and boss of the fashion company Benetton.
As a fugitive to Benetton’s America boss
Briatore was sentenced to prison in Italy in 1984 and 1986 for criminal financial transactions. However, Briatore fled to the US Virgin Islands to avoid serving the sentences. During his time in America he worked for Benetton and opened several stores for the brand in the Virgin Islands . In 1979 he became head of the company’s American operations and built up a handsome fortune. By the time Briatore returned to Europe in 1989, his prison sentences had finally expired.
Boss of Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher
In 1989 Briatore became team boss of the Formula 1 racing team Benetton Formula . He recorded his greatest success with the two world titles that Michael Schumacher won in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, Briatore bought shares in the F1 team Minardi, but was unable to resell them for a profit as hoped. Instead, he had to sell them below their value. In 1997 he finally left Benetton. From 1998 to 2000 he managed the company Supertec, which supplied various F1 teams with Renault engines.
Two more Formula 1 titles
In 2001, Briatore returned to Formula 1 as head of the Benetton-Renault team, which was called Renault F1 from 2002. Briatore discovered Fernando Alonso and guided him to two world titles in 2005 and 2006. After it became known that Briatore caused a deliberate accident in 2008 by his driver Nelson Piquet jr. had arranged, he was eventually fired by Renault . In 2009 he was also punished by the world racing association with a lifelong ban. This was converted to a three-year ban in 2010.