Toto Wolff: Making a fast buck

The 51-year-old has been passionate about motor sports ever since his youth. Although he was never a household name internationally, Torger “Toto” Wolff had a successful career in the Austrian Formula Ford championship and in its German equivalent back in the 90s. Arguably his greatest achievement came in 1994, when he won his category at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race. His motorsport career lasted well into the 2000s and included a number of further achievements, such as a second-place finish in the Austrian national rally championship in 2006.

Business drive
Wolff did not spend long in the pit-lane once his racing days were behind him and in 2009 he effortlessly shifted gears to the sport’s corporate arena with the acquisition of a 15% stake in the Williams F1 team, which he sold at a handsome profit in 2015, the year in which Mercedes won the second of its eight successive F1 constructor’s championships.

Wolff did not spend long in the pit-lane once his racing days were behind him and in 2009 he effortlessly shifted gears to the sport’s corporate arena

Wolff currently owns a third of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, which handles the motorsport activities of the Stuttgart-based auto giant. Since taking over as Mercedes F1 boss in 2014, Wolff’s performance has been exemplary, with record after record falling: among them, a run of seven successive driver’s championship titles, and 2016’s high water mark of 19 victories, 20 pole positions and 33 podium finishes. Despite becoming a billionaire in 2023, Wolff states that he “would give up every last cent” to win on the racetrack.

F1 popularity skyrockets
This financial success is due to the rude health of a sport that, though in the crosshairs of environmentalists, has never been more popular with the general public. In 2022 F1 attracted record crowds of over five million and gate receipts of $2.5 billion. Some put this down to the hit Netflix series Drive to Survive, others to sport’s growing popularity in the United States, since online merchandise sales for F1 jumped by 101% in 2022 and by a staggering 1,084% since 2018, with the US leading the sales charts. The 2023 F1 season has expanded to 24 races, including stops in Miami in May and Las Vegas in November added to the traditional USA Grand Prix in Austin.  

This bet on the North American market (there are also Grand Prix in Mexico and Canada) has paid off spectacularly. The team in black and teal posted turnover of $700 million (and an operating profit of $192 million) this year, for a valuation of $3.8 billion, just behind the iconic constructor Ferrari at $3.9 billion. And in an overtaking maneuver worthy of Lewis Hamilton himself, Wolff has shot up the ranking of the sports world’s richest individuals this year, increasing his net worth by 60% in 2023 alone, according to Forbes.