Bathurst 1000: The Supercars’ richest team owners
From a US billionaire to the Westfield heiress, Supercars has the sort of backers that NRL and AFL clubs can only dream of. Check out the top five biggest wallets in attendance at this weekend’s Bathurst 1000.
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NRL clubs can only dream of having backers like these.
Private jets, helicopters and limousines descended on Bathurst this week, with the rich and famous turning Mount Panorama into Mount Money.
From a billionaire who has Donald Trump on speed dial to the Westfield shopping empire heiress, they make rugby league’s big backers look working class.
Here’s our Top 5 rich list who are throwing their cash into Supercars.
ROGER PENSKE
Valued: $A2 billion
DJR/Team Penske co-owner
Undisputed cash king of Mount Panorama. Rated by Forbes as one of the 400 richest men in the US, he made his fortune by selling cars and renting trunks. Also the owner of Nascar and IndyCar teams, Penske bought a part-ownership in Dick Johnson Racing in 2017. Penske, who the US President considers a personal friend, flew from America to Australia on his personal jet to be at this year’s Bathurst 1000.
BETTY KLIMENKO
Valued: $960 million
Erebus Motorsport co-owner
Heavily tattooed and sometimes sporting pink hair, the daughter of Westfield co-founder John Saunders will be in pitlane cheering on Dave Reynolds. Backing herself against the V8 big boys, Klimenko started her own Supercars team in 2013 when she bought Stone Brothers Racing. Her team were battlers at first, but Klimenko now steers a heavyweight operation that has already won Bathurst.
TONY QUINN
Valued: $411m
Aussie Racing Cars series owner
A motorsport tragic who’s raced in just about every lower-tier category, Quinn made his fortune in pet food. In a rags-to-riches tale, he went from living in a wooden caravan in Glasgow to selling a company he built from the ground up for $410m. The former owner of VIP Petfoods, Quinn now owns Darrell Lea, the Aussie Race Car series and a state-of-the-art racetrack just outside Queenstown in NZ.
LIAM TALBOT
Valued: $100 million+
Carrera Cup driver
The son of mining magnate Ken Talbot, Liam inherited part of his father’s $1.23 billion estate. While the true extent of his wealth is unknown, some have estimated his personal wealth to be in excess of $200 million. A race car-driving playboy who dates celebrity Charli Robinson of High-Five fame, Talbot took on Mount Panorama on Saturday in a Porsche in the Supercars’ Carrera Cup curtain-raiser.
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MICHAEL ANDRETTI
Valued: $60m
Walkinshaw Andretti United
One of the biggest names in US motorsport, Andretti is a former world IndyCar champion and one of the most successful open-wheeled drivers in US history. The son of racing legend Mario Andretti, he has amassed an estimated personal wealth of $US40 million through his company Andretti Autorsport. Andretti became a co-owner of Supercars team Walkinshaw Andretti Racing last year.