What was Max Mosley's net worth? A look at F1 ex-boss' lawsuit against 'Nazi orgy' story as he dies at 81
Former British racing driver Max Mosley died on Monday, May 24. He became the president of motorsport's world governing body, FIA in 1993 serving four terms before he stepped down in 2009. His successor and current FIA President Jean Todt confirmed his death with a tweet that read, "Deeply saddened by the passing of Max Mosley. He was a major figure in @F1 & motorsport. As @FIA President for 16 years, he strongly contributed to reinforcing safety on track & on the roads. The entire FIA community pays tribute to him. Our thoughts & prayers are with his family."
Apart from his career as a motorsport driver, then a motorsport boss, Mosley was one of the owners and founders of March Engineering - a racing car constructor. He was married to Jean Taylor with whom he shared two children - sons Patrick and Alexander. The latter of his sons was found dead a couple of years ago after an alleged drug overdose. The motorsport supremo died at age 81 after a battle with cancer and is survived by his wife and son's family. He also leaves behind a massive net worth that runs into millions, here are details.
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What was Max Mosley's net worth at the time of his death?
Max Mosley was worth a whopping $16 million. He was a trained lawyer who tried his hand as a racing driver in Formula Two before dabbling in F1 as the owner and boss of the March Engineering team in 1970. He held the top position as legal adviser to the teams' organization, the Formula One Constructors' Association. His role as the President of FIA for 16 years gave his experience in financial analysis where he campaigned to reduce the astronomical costs of F1 teams and the distribution of its massive revenues.
He also considered making the sport safer after the tragic death of driver Ayrton Senna in 1994. He also fought to cut down costs noting that F1 teams were spending close to $1200 for a single wheel nut. Mosley also introduced biofuel technology to give a greener image to the sport.
Max Mosley turned privacy campaigner after winning tabloid lawsuit
After four consecutive terms as FIA President, Mosley's life turned tumultuous in 2008 when the now-defunct tabloid News of the World published a secretly filmed video of him being whipped and engaging in sex acts with five dominatrices at a London flat. One of them was wearing a Luftwatte jacket and another a striped prison-style uniform and the tabloid alleged that the orgy was Nazi-themed.
The claim was later rejected by a British judge and the case was ruled in Mosley's favor stating they had breached his privacy and he was awarded $85,000 in damages. He later told the London's High Court, “All my life, I have had hanging over me my antecedents, my parents, and the last thing I want to do in some sexual context is be reminded of it." His father Oswald Mosley was the leader of the anti-Semitic British Union of Fascists and he married his wife at a secret ceremony at the home of Hitler's propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels. Hitler was one of the guests at the wedding.
Mosely remained in the public eye in Britain ever since, mainly as a campaigner for privacy rights and against media intrusion. In 2014, he launched legal action against Google seeking damages and asking the court to compel the search engine to prevent any user from accessing the sex party images in future. Mosley won similar lawsuits against Google in France and Germany.
