Toto Wolff’s net worth makes him a billionaire. As one of the most successful team principals ever, he is a hot marketing prospect for several brands. Bombardier, an airplane manufacturing company from Canada, realizes that.
Last year, the airplane company made the Mercedes boss their ambassador. Though, according to Business F1, the deal is not reported to be in cash. Rather a contra arrangement has been reached between the two parties.
10) The Mercedes F1 team is now worth about $1.5 billion — up from $170M — and Toto Wolff owns 33% of the team.
That means his $30 million equity stake is now worth $500 million — and that’s without counting his $20M+ annual salary and other investments.
Now that’s incredible. pic.twitter.com/tfGuOVjclp
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 11, 2023
According to the same source, Wolff would get a mammoth discount of up to $16.2 million for every Bombardier plane purchase. That means he can levy a 50% discount on every plane he buys from the Canadian company.
Toto Wolff can’t step on another plane without permission
But becoming a brand ambassador and getting a massive discount from Bombardier is also costly. Business F1 adds that Wolff signing with a $16 billion worth company prohibits him from traveling in a plane by another manufacturer without prior permission.
But since Wolff is estimated to fly 75,000 miles this year for his work, arranging his own plane is more convenient. He usually flies with his own entourage, as seen in the ‘Drive to Survive’, often accompanied by Susie Wolff and even his drivers Lewis Hamilton and now maybe even George Russell.
[Instagram: mercedesamgf1] Hamilton, Bottas and Toto in a private jet after Austrian GP (ft. Roscoe, Angela Cullen, Susie Wolff & Tiffany Cromwell)
by u/Koh_the_bastard in mercedesamgf1
So having a private plane from Bombardier to deal with all of his travels would be enough. Meanwhile, Wolff will have to make appearances in some of the events by Bombardier under this deal.
Mercedes boss aiming for a better season ahead
The 51-year-old, for the first time in his 10-year-long spell, is seeing difficult times at the team. Since 2022, Mercedes has failed to contest the championship, and their predicaments continue.
Though, in Australia, they showed better pace, and Lewis Hamilton even got them their first podium of the season. However, how long they will be able to maintain this pace is unknown.
Surely, the upcoming races will see some of the upgrades by Mercedes, but they are unlikely to boost their championship chances. Instead, they could realistically aim at beating Ferrari and Aston Martin for the P2 in the standings.
