Enzo Ferrari Biography & Net Worth

Enzo Ferrari Biography & Net Worth

Enzo Ferrari was an Italian motor racing driver widely recognized as the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. He was known as “il Drake” or “il Commendatore”. In his final years he was mostly referred to as “il Grande Vecchio (the Great Old Man)” or “l’Ingegnere” (the Engineer). This article looks to examine how Enzo Ferrari net worth was acquired by “the Engineer” from his days as an active race car driver and businessman.

Enzo Ferrari’s Early Life

Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari was born in the town of Modena, Italy on 18 February 1898. The son of a manufacturer called Alfredo Ferrari, he grew up in Modena his hometown without any formal education. He was passionate about race cars and driving from his childhood days and decided to become a racing driver at a tender age of 10, when his dad took him to see the Circuit di Bologna in 1908. After this occasion, he attended many more race car competitions, and his experiences from these events left a strong impression on his mind.

In 1914, Enzo started working as a teacher at Lathe Operator School in Modena fire brigade’s workshop. He lost his father and brother during the WWI in 1916 due to the outbreak of the Italian flu. Around the same time he was invited to join the war and was stationed to the Third Alpine Regiment, Val Seriana. However, he was discharged during the war after he contracted the 1918 flu pandemic.

Enzo Ferrari’s Career

The military authorities issued Ferrari a letter of recommendation before he proceeded to apply for a job with Fiat in 1918. He was unfortunate with this quest as there were no vacancies at the time. Instead he was employed as a test driver, in Turin, at a motor company that transformed light trucks into chassis, collaborating with an Argentinian-Italo body shop in Milan. In 1919, he started working as a test driver at a company called Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali, in Milan. He was soon promoted to the position of a racing driver. In that same year, he participated in the Parma-Poggio di Berceto where he drove his first race, finishing at the 4th position. Soon afterwards he participated in another race, the Targa Florio race where he failed to achieve any success in that too due to a problem with the fuel.

In 1921, Ferrari participated in several races as an exclusive Alfa driver. It was in this year that he had his first accident during the Brescia Grand Prix. He meandered off the road in so as to save a herd of cattle crossing the route tank. Eight years later, he formed the racing team known as “Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix”, and it became the racing team for Alfa Romeo.

The year 1931 was Enzo Ferrari’s last year as a driver. He came second at the Three Provinces Circuit, which was his last. Because of of his increasing professional and family commitments, he abandoned racing in this year.

1940, he worked towards building cars for Mille Miglia in the quarters of the old Scuderia. Around this time, during the second world war, his firm was forced to produce for the Fascist Government of Mussolini. His firm won its first Grand Prix in 1951, with Jose Froilan Gonzalez at Silverstone. The company earned it’s first championship in 1952-53. At this same time the company also started the sales of sports car in order to foot bills and finance its racing events.

Personal Life, Family, Death

Ferrari married Laura Dominica Garello Ferrari in 1932. They had a son called Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferarri who died from muscular dystrophy in 1956. Enzo had a second son named Piero in 1945 with his mistress Lina Lardi. However, it was after the death of Lina that he recognized Piero as his legal son.

In 1988, Enzo Ferrari passed away at the age of 90. His death was announced two days later.

Enzo Ferrari Net Worth

His total worth at the time of his death is hard to pin down. Despite founding one of the most popular luxury car companies in history that now has a market cap worth of $30 billion, he was never “rich” in his lifetime. In fact, he operated basically at a loss in order to fund his beloved racing team. At a time when his company was struggling deeply, he sold 50% of Ferrari to Fiat in 1959. Upon his death, the owners of Fiat (the Agnelli family) bought an additional 40% of the company. Enzo’s surviving son, Piero inherited the remaining 10% stake.

In 2015, when Ferrari became a public company, Piero Ferrari’s 10% stake was worth $2 billion. As of 2020, his stake worth more than $3.5 billion.

As at the time of this writing, many trustworthy sources claim Enzo Ferrari net worth was $100 million at the time of his death. This was a really massive sum during his time and he deserves all the honor he gets even in death for his accomplishments, and for establishing one of the most popular luxury car brands in history. As long as the company lives, Enzo’s name will never be forgotten.