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How F1’s Bernie Ecclestone Flipped His Massive $30 Million Superyacht

Bernie's still got it.

Image: DMARGE

Luxury superyacht Force Blue — once owned by American tycoon Roy Speer and later by Italian millionaire Flavio Briatore — ended up in the hands of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who flipped it for an impressive profit.

From Jeff Bezos to Vladimir Putin , everyone who’s anyone has a fancy superyacht. Now, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone hasn’t just joined that privileged club, but he’s shown everyone else how to make a quick buck in the process.

As reported by Auto Evolution , Force Blue entered the world more than two decades ago in 2002. It spent its initial seven years under Roy Speer’s ownership. However, the journey took an exciting turn when Flavio Briatore acquired the Royal Denship yacht. Like many superyacht owners, Briatore gave it a makeover, infusing it with Italian style.

WATCH: Check out Jeff Bezos’ $700m superyacht…

A Decade of Waiting

Unfortunately for Briatore, his time with Force Blue was short-lived: In 2010, Italian authorities seized the yacht due to allegations of unpaid taxes while it was docked in the famous La Spezia on the Italian Riviera. While legal battles between Briatore and the authorities raged on, Force Blue waited in limbo.

Force Blue languished without a rightful owner for an entire decade as legal disputes rolled on. Then, in 2021, the yacht suddenly went up for auction. The winning bidder? Bernie Ecclestone, former Chief Exec of Formula One and a close friend of Briatore.

Ecclestone secured the yacht for an absolute steal: With a starting bid of just €7 million (~$12 million AUD), this was less than half of its estimated value and a fraction of what Briatore had reportedly paid for it back in 2009, which was just under $87 million USD (~$115 million AUD).

Ecclestone’s Makeover Magic

Ecclestone wasted no time after acquiring Force Blue : He embarked on a comprehensive refit that transformed the old expedition yacht into a modern, high-end vessel.

The refit boasts a beach club, a state-of-the-art spa — considered one of the largest spa facilities on the water — a private cinema and, perhaps most impressively, a DJ booth with a massive disco-lighting rig that’s capable of accommodating up to 60 seated guests or over 300 for quay events.

Weighing in at over 1,300 tons, Force Blue provides lavish accommodation for 12 guests and a sizable crew of 19. The lower deck featured five guest cabins, while the upper deck was dedicated to the full-beam master suite.

Luxury Redefined

It’s safe to say that with its brand-new full-height windows offering stunning sea views, Force Blue has become a superyacht that inspires envy amongst the rich elites who seem to purchase these vessels like it’s going out of fashion. No doubt it now requires the kind of extensive, cutting-edge security that we’ve come to see across the sector too.

Most impressively, however, is its massively increased worth after the refit, especially when you take into account the bargain bucket price that Eccelstone snapped it up for.

While experts are being cagey about an updated sale price, seemingly not wanting to let a number slip before Eccelstone decides he’s ready to sell and — given his undeniable business nouse — figures out his own magic number, suffice to say he should be able to more than triple his €7 million investment…

While most superyacht owners are hardly strapped for cash, it’s still quite the flex to make such an impressive return on such a massive and seemingly superfluous investment… it seems that Bernie’s still got it.

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Bernie Ecclestone buys USD 25 million yacht FORCE BLUE for 9 million

Bernie Ecclestone, has gifted himself the FORCE BLUE yacht from his former partner Flavio Briatore.

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone bought Flavio Briatore’s $ 25,000,000 yacht for $ 9,000,000 , which had been seized by police and auctioned

The impressive 63-meter yacht Fraser Force Blue was recently up for auction, after Briatore, who bought it in 2002 for $ 93,000,000 , failed to pay about $ 4,000,000 in VAT on the boat between 2006 and 2010, as well as USD 960,000 in fuel taxes.

The yacht, which happens to be the 78th largest on the planet, was initially available for charter in the Mediterranean, before the court decided to sell it at auction.

With capacity for 12 guests, Force Blue has luxurious features that include a spa, gym and Jacuzzi for relaxation, as well as a movie theater and disco.

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Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone bought Flavio Briatore’s £18m yacht for bargain £6.6m after it’s seized by police

• Etienne Fermie
• Published : 8:00, 28 May 2022
• Published : Invalid Date,

FORMER Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone treated himself to his old mate Flavio Briatore's yacht.

The stunning 63-metre Force Blue became available for auction last year, after Briatore was convicted of not paying the VAT.

And Ecclestone , 91, couldn't resist grabbing himself a bargain, picking up the yacht for a snip at £6.6m - despite his mate having originally paid £68.2m for it.

Briatore, 72, who previously owned QPR alongside Ecclestone - was found to have not paid around £3m in VAT on the boat between 2006 and 2010 - as well as around £700,000 in fuel duties.

The yacht, the 78th biggest on the planet, initially became available for charter in the Mediterranean, before the court decided to sell up at auction.

And according to Italian reports , Ecclestone snapped it up for just £6.6m - despite it being valued these days at around £17.5m.

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Able to house 12 guests, Force Blue possesses luxury features including a spa, gym and Jacuzzi to relax in - as well as a cinema and disco room if Bernie fancies a boogie.

Perhaps Bernie will be able to share the yacht with his kids, having become a father again at 89 with wife Fabiana..

And if he has his way, there could be more offspring yet .

He told SunSport last year: "Fabiana said she wanted a ­family, and I told her, ‘That’s no problem for me. Half a dozen kids is great’."

On being a father again, he added: "I am really happy. When I had the girls in the first place, obviously I was much younger.

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“But also I was more worried about running a business than running around after them.

"Now I have more time on my hands and I hope I can spend it with my son as he grows up. I don’t know if we will stop here. Perhaps he should have a little brother or sister.

"Do I take anything? No! Fabiana gives me some tablets — vitamin D — but I don’t take anything else."

Briatore, who also knows Ecclestone from his days as Renault F1 chief, was rushed to hospital in 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19.

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Bernie Ecclestone's luxury yacht Petara arrives to Dubrovnik

The luxury yacht Petara, owned by Bernie Ecclestone, arrived to Port of Gruz yesterday, according to Dubrovacki vjesnik .

Bernie, who is expecting a child with his wife Fabiana Flossi (42) at the age of 89, is a frequent guest in our city.

The yacht Petara, 58 meters long and worth about 35 million dollars, was named after Petra and Tamara, Bernie's daughters from his marriage with his Croatian ex-wife, Slavica.

According to media reports, one of the richest people in the world, Bernie Ecclestone, considers the Adriatic as his refuge, even though more than ten years have passed since he divorced Slavica, with whom he started coming to the Adriatic. Ecclestone and Slavica divorced after 24 years of marriage, and their divorce was declared one of the most expensive in history.

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Bernie's One Man Show

Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone's grip over control of the sport seems to be under threat. Not only has Ferrari's president Luca Di Montezemolo said he believes the sport needs "a more modern view", but Bernie Ecclestone F1 future is under cloud as bribery charges are prepared .

Business F1 Top 20 Petrolheads: Bernie Ecclestone, the Master of every game

• 13 January 2024

Photo credit: Business F1

Who doesn’t know Bernie Ecclestone ? Old Bernie, as the man who made Formula One great is called, has in his long life done everything a motorsport enthusiast could dream of doing: from being a driver, a driver’s manager, and the owner of Team Brabham to owning racing circuits, and for nearly 45 years, the undisputed, feared, and respected ruler of Formula One itself. Not only that, he has also assembled the world’s largest and most prestigious collection of vintage Formula One cars. Despite his age, he turns 94 next October, Ecclestone continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Formula 1 thanks to his profound understanding of the industry’s key players - including manufacturers, teams, technicians, drivers, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and Liberty Media, who succeeded him in leading Formula 1. Now he divides his time between his homes in Switzerland, Ibiza, Brazil, and London, when he is not patrolling the decks of his yacht.

Born in Suffolk and relocating to London at the age of 10 during the onset of World War II, Ecclestone found a role model in his father. It was his father who introduced him to the world of racing, taking him to his first Formula 1 Grand Prix at the age of twenty. It was at Silverstone, on Saturday, 13th May 1950, and it was the very first race of the Formula intended to be the pinnacle of motor racing.

The small roads around the old RAF bomber airfield at Silverstone were invaded by 120,000 people who had the same idea, although many were there to see King George VI, who was also eager to attend the first Formula One Grand Prix. He and his father arrived on Friday to watch the qualifying rounds and stayed overnight in their car in the parking lot. The next day, standing behind the straw bales alongside the track, they watched Nino Farina, in the Alfa Romeo 159, the famous Alfetta, win the race. Ecclestone remembers being struck by those cars that carried the colours of their own country: red for Italy, blue for France, and green for Great Britain.

He was already in the automotive sector and had been buying and selling motorcycles and cars since leaving school at 15. And that wasn’t all: he was also a driver. His first race was on a motorcycle, then he bought a Cooper 500 Formula 3 and raced for seven years, sometimes against drivers of the calibre of Stirling Moss. In 1958 he participated in two Formula One Grand Prix in Great Britain and Monaco with an old Connaught model. However, his true ambition lay elsewhere. He left racing to be the manager of an emerging talent, Stuart Lewis-Evans, offering guidance, as he himself recalls: “I tried to take care of the things he was doing, without being his manager, but hoping to give him some good advice and that was the way I got so involved in Formula One and met people who were very famous at the same time”.

Lewis-Evans raced for the Vanwall team but died in the Corniche of Casablanca during the Moroccan Grand Prix. His Vanwall overturned and caught fire. Lewis-Evans got out with his suit on fire but instead of rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames, he moved away from the blaze and the fire gave him no escape. Ecclestone remembers “It was a bad day for me because I was very close to Stuart and he died the day after my 28th birthday”.

The blow was so hard that he swore never to have anything more to do with motor racing. He then focused on the car trade, opening one of London’s first used car showrooms alongside his father. Ecclestone sold expensive sports cars to celebrities but one day John Cooper walked into his showroom trying to persuade him to take an interest in Formula One again and invited him to the 1967 Mexican Grand Prix where he met Jochen Rindt. They bonded and he became his manager beginning of his lifelong association with Colin Chapman of Lotus.

The period with Jochen Rindt lasted just three years, cut short by Rindt’s fatal accident at Monza in 1970. Rindt’s death was another hard blow for Ecclestone. Overcoming the shock, he bought the Brabham team from Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac. Eccleston managed to win two World Titles with Nelson Piquet. The death of another driver, Elio de Angelis, prompted Eccleston to sell the team and focus on Formula One’s commercial management.

Today he is 93 years old, but still feels as youthful as he did at 73. His recent and well-publicized clash with the public administration has now been resolved and he was happy to sign a cheque for £652 million (roughly 800 million dollars) to settle the matter, half of which were taxes due, and half were fines and penalties. His advanced age, coupled with the stress of the legal proceedings and the potential for a physical collapse that would have caught worldwide media attention, led him to prudently agree to a settlement. Bernie Ecclestone’s likelihood of remaining active for several more years is quite high. The late Professor Sid Watkins advised him to have a precautionary heart bypass in 2001, during which he had a “full service” on his heart. It wouldn’t be surprising to many if Ecclestone lives beyond 100 years. His brain is as sharp as ever, he knows everyone who is worth knowing – presidents and prime ministers still respond to his phone calls.

The December issue of "BusinessF1" magazine featured the Top 20 Petrolheads, showcasing exceptional collectors in the world of motorsport. Roarington will delve deeper into the captivating stories of these remarkable enthusiasts, sharing a new profile each week.

Business F1 Top 20 Petrolheads: Zak Brown, collector, driver and Formula 1 great

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Bernie Ecclestone, 93, is helped onto a dinghy by wife Fabiana Flosi, 47, as they kick off his daughter Tamara's 40th birthday celebrations in Ibiza

By Milly Veitch For Mailonline

Published: 10:12 EDT, 27 June 2024 | Updated: 17:32 EDT, 27 June 2024

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Bernie Ecclestone was given a helping hand by his wife Fabiana Flosi on Wednesday, as they kicked off his daughter Tamara's 40th birthday celebrations in Ibiza.

The Formula One tycoon, 93, was spotted on the beach alongside his wife, 47, and several family members, including youngest daughter Petra, 35, and her husband Sam Palmer, 39.

The clan headed down to a dinghy waiting at the shore to speed them over to a luxury yacht out in the Mediterranean.

Bernie put on a loved-up display with Fabiana - who is 46 years his junior - as they couple linked arms on the walk down.

They coordinated their outfits for the boat ride, with both wearing all-blue ensembles in the summer sunshine.

Bernie Ecclestone was given a helping hand by his wife Fabiana Flosi on Wednesday, as they kicked off his daughter Tamara's 40th birthday celebrations in Ibiza 

The Formula One tycoon, 93, was spotted on the beach alongside his wife, 47, and several family members, including youngest daughter Petra, 35, and her husband Sam Palmer, 39

The clan headed down to a dinghy waiting at the shore to speed them over to a luxury yacht out in the Mediterranean

The billionaire looked casual in a button-up shirt and jeans, adding grey trainers and a pair of purple tinted shades.

While Fabiana showed off her long legs in a pair of sky blue floral shorts with a matching linen shirt and fluffy handbag.

The Brazilian also sported white sandals and designer sunglasses as she guided her husband towards the dinghy.

As Bernie climbed on, his doting spouse held tightly onto his arm to help keep his balance, and braced herself on the boat to help another man to support the businessman's weight.

Fabiana and Bernie met in 2009 at the World Motor Sport Council, with her working as the vice-president of marketing for the Brazilian Grand Prix. 

They then tied the knot in 2012 at his chalet, Le Lion, in the exclusive resort of Gstaad, Switzerland.

Their nuptials came just three years after Bernie divorced his second wife Slavica Radić, who is the mother of his daughters Tamara and Petra. 

The couple went on to welcome son Ace, three, in July 2020, making Bernie one of the world's oldest known fathers at 89 years old. 

Bernie put on a loved-up display with Fabiana - who is 46 years his junior - as they couple linked arms on the walk down, wearing coordinating all-blue ensembles

They coordinated their outfits for the boat ride, with both wearing all-blue ensembles in the summer sunshine

The billionaire looked casual in a button-up shirt and jeans, adding grey trainers and a pair of purple tinted shades

While Fabiana showed off her long legs in a pair of sky blue floral shorts with a matching linen shirt and fluffy handbag

The Brazilian also sported white sandals and designer sunglasses as she guided her husband towards the dinghy

As Bernie climbed on, his doting spouse held tightly onto his arm to help keep his balance, and braced herself on the boat to help another man to support the businessman's weight

When they announced the pregnancy, Bernie said: 'Yes, it is due in the summer. Hopefully he’ll learn to play backgammon soon!'

While Fabiana added: 'Like all parents we have only one wish: the child must be born healthy. Hopefully he will never express any interest in doing something in Formula 1!'

Bernie previously hit back at claims he was too old to become a father after Ace's birth, saying he wants even more children. 

He told The Sun on Sunday: 'Now I have more time on my hands and I hope I can spend it with my son as he grows up. I don't know if we will stop here. Perhaps he should have a little brother or sister.

He added that he had told Fabiana he wanted kids when they first met, saying: 'Fabiana said she wanted a ­family, and I told her, "That's no problem for me. Half a dozen kids is great".'

Bernie is also father to daughter Deborah, 69, who he welcomed with his first wife Ivy Bambford.

He is also grandfather to Tamara's two daughters Sophia and Serena and Petra's daughters Lavinia and Minnie and twin boys James and Andrew.

Fabiana and Bernie met in 2009 at the World Motor Sport Council, with her working in marketing for the Brazilian Grand Prix before tying the knot in 2012 (pictured in 2012)

Their nuptials came just three years after Bernie divorced his second wife Slavica Radić, who is the mother of his daughters Tamara and Petra (pictured with Petra, Slavica and Tamara)

The couple went on to welcome son Ace, three, in July 2020, making Bernie one of the world's oldest known fathers at 89 years old

Share or comment on this article: Bernie Ecclestone, 93, is helped onto a dinghy by wife Fabiana Flosi, 47, as they kick off his daughter Tamara's 40th birthday celebrations in Ibiza

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