Having reviewed some autobiographies of rock stars
recently, I was given a copy of a biography of one of Britain’s richest men,
with the background being Formula 1 motor racing. The book, No Angel (ISBN
978-0-571-26936-5, Faber and Faber 2012), has as a subtitle “The Secret Life
of Bernie Ecclestone,” the owner of the F1 rights, and these days a multi
billionaire, but someone who came from an impoverished background, both
financially and emotionally.
Written by Tom Bower, a journalist who has written biographies on people
such as Sir Richard Branson, politician Gordon Brown and media magnate
Conrad Black, he is well versed in ways of extracting information from the
subjects of their biographies and people around them.
Bower describes Ecclestone’s childhood, one where celebrations such as
birthdays were not held. An aunt did try on his eighth birthday and
Ecclestone ran away, unable to emotionally handle a public display of
affection. This was to become an integral part of his character, and still
evident to the present day.
By the time he was 11, Ecclestone was already looking to raise himself from
penury and was doing two paper rounds before school, using some of the money
to buy biscuits and buns which he then sold in the playground at a 25
percent profit. At 11 years of age, he was already a hustler.
On leaving school having failed all subjects except mathematics, he was
enrolled in a polytechnic college, but rather than study he bought fountain
pens to sell to the other students - at a handsome profit, naturally. Bernie
Ecclestone was a natural born entrepreneur.
From fountain pens, he graduated to motorcycles and then to secondhand cars.
His sales technique was very much the ‘take it or leave it’ approach, one
that he still employs with such corporate giants as the Formula 1 teams, and
even the FIA (the governing body of motor sport).
The book does not gloss over Ecclestone’s underhand methods, even to going
through rubbish bins in boardrooms to see what notes the other side were
passing amongst themselves. Max Mosley, one time boss of the FIA was even
moved to remark, “Bernie, you’re not a liar but your concept of the truth is
different to other peoples.”
As Ecclestone’s grip over Formula 1 racing increased, it was evident that he
was outsmarting all the teams, but since he had also increased their
financial return, they were willing to go along with the flow, though
getting angry at times with just how much Ecclestone was creaming off the
business.
Of course, if you really want top level skullduggery, the donation by
Ecclestone to Tony Blair (British PM) of one million GBP, to smooth the
transition of tobacco advertising from being an outright ban, to being a
phased in reduction to allow tobacco sponsorship to continue. The million
was followed by an 800,000 GBP “loan” each year for three years (and you
think corruption is bad in Thailand?).
Bower has written a fascinating tale of a man for whom there was only one
ambition - winning the deal, the money was then going to follow.
