F1 tycoon in £2bn divorce battle
FORMULA 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was tonight facing a multi-billion-pound divorce battle.
Slavica Ecclestone, 50, said she was ending their marriage of 24 years — opening the way for her to claim a massive slice of his £2.4 billion fortune.
The 6ft 2in former model, who towers 10 inches over the 78-year-old, is entitled to up to half his wealth because of the length of their marriage, sources said.
She will be represented by Liz Vernon, of London-based firm Clintons, who made history in the law courts by securing the wife of footballer Ray Parlour a ground-breaking payout. Mrs Ecclestone was said to have moved out of their £10 million Chelsea home while her husband was in Brazil watching Lewis Hamilton's Grand Prix victory. The couple have two daughters, Tamara, 24, and Petra, 19, both of whom live in London.
A huge proportion of the couple's wealth — £1.9 billion from a bond issue in 1999 — is already in off-shore trusts controlled by Mrs Ecclestone for tax reasons. She is believed to be a "non-dom", not subject to British tax.
Julian Ribet, a divorce lawyer at Levison Meltzer Pigott, said today: "This is likely to be the biggest divorce in legal history."
A senior legal source added: "It's massive. She's entitled to up to half of his wealth."
Mrs Ecclestone's new home is said to be a flat owned by daughter Petra's boyfriend. Ecclestone, who started as a racing driver, holds the titles president and chief executive of Formula 1 Management and Formula 1 Administration and owns a stake in Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula1 Group of companies.
It gives him effective financial control of the racing circuit, something he began building from the late Seventies. Despite their wealth, the Ecclestones have lived relatively
low-key lives.
Mrs Ecclestone has often claimed she does the housework herself and their eldest daughter has revealed that when she and her sister were growing up, their mother refused to have a dishwasher.
The couple met at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix, where Mrs Ecclestone was modelling. They married two years later and although the union was seen as solid they were said to have grown apart in recent years, partly due to Mr Ecclestone's business lifestyle.
At her new home overlooking the Thames, Mrs Ecclestone refused to comment on the marriage, asking for her privacy, and that of her children, to be respected.
Mr Ecclestone also refused to comment on the proceedings. Despite his huge wealth and fame, he has notoriously refused to employ a public
relations advisor. His wealth has placed him at the top of the Sunday Times Rich List for many years. He is currently rated the 24th richest person in Britain.
As well as property in Chelsea, he has become a part-owner of Queen's Park Rangers football club with friend and fellow Formula 1 boss Flavio Briatore. In 2004 he sold a home in Kensington Palace Gardens for a then record of £57.1 million, despite never having lived in it.
