Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Formula 1 Estate Planning Disaster


Bernie Ecclestone, owner of Formula One Holdings, is a billionaire and one of the highest paid executives in the world. His wife of 24 years has asked for a divorce.

The UK Timesonline says "Much of the family wealth is believed to be held by Mrs. Ecclestone in a trust that also owns just under 10% of Formula One. This has prompted speculation that Mr. Ecclestone, 78, who has run the sport since the early 1980s and has managed repeatedly to sell off parts of his stake without ceding operational control, could find himself fighting his wife for his share of his own money."

Looks like Eccelstone did it in order to save money on taxes. He placed most of the proceeds from his recent sale of 75% of his Formula One holdings into offshore trusts in his wife's name, because she is not a British citizen and pays less tax.
Now Ecclestone has hired one of the most expensive lawyers in England (Lady Helen Ward a celebrity divorce attorney who is currently representing Guy Ritchie in his divorce with Madonna.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ecclestone seems to be a very crafty person
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