Toto Wolff (born 12 January 1972) is an Austrian investor and former racing driver. He holds a 33% stake in the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One Team and is the Team Principal and CEO of the team.
Wolff began his motorsport career in the Austrian Formula Ford Championship and the German Formula Ford Series. He won his category in the 1994 24 Hours Nürburgring and later competed in the FIA GT Championship and Italian GT Championship. As an investor, Wolff founded Marchfifteen in 1998 and Marchsixteen Investments in 2004, initially focusing on Internet and technology companies. He specializes in strategic investments in medium-sized industrial and listed companies, which have included Williams F1 and German HWA AG.
Early life
Wolff was born on 12 January 1972 in Vienna to a Polish mother and a Romanian father. His mother was a physician. He grew up in the city and was educated in a French school there, despite not coming from a wealthy family. Wolff’s father was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was eight years old. His parents separated following his father’s diagnosis. His father died of the disease during Wolff’s adolescence.
Motorsport
Wolff started his motorsport career in 1992 in the Austrian Formula Ford Championship, driving in Austrian and German Formula Ford in 1993 and 1994. In 1994, he won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in his category. In 2002 Wolff finished in sixth place in the N-GT category in the FIA GT Championship and won one race. He switched to the Italian GT Championship in 2003, winning a race in 2004 with Lorenzo Case, while also teaming with Karl Wendlinger in the FIA GT Championship. Wolff was runner up in the Austrian Rally Championship in 2006, and the winner of the 2006 Dubai 24 Hour. Wolff has also served as an instructor at the Walter Lechner Racing School and in 2009 became a lap-record holder on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Porsche RSR.
Formula One
In 2009, Wolff bought a share of the Williams Formula One Team and joined the board of directors. In 2012, he was named executive director of Williams F1 and the team took its last race win to date at that year’s Spanish Grand Prix with Pastor Maldonado.
In January 2013, Wolff left Williams F1 to become an executive director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, with his business partner Rene Berger becoming a non-executive director. In addition to joining the team as managing partner, he also acquired 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, with a further 10% held by Niki Lauda and 60% by the parent company.
Wolff took over the coordination of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities, a responsibility previously held by Norbert Haug. In 2014, Wolff sold two-thirds of his Williams shares to American businessman Brad Hollinger. On 9 March 2016, Wolff sold his remaining shares in the Williams team.
As co-owner of both WilliamsF1 (where wife Susie worked as a test driver until November 2015) and Mercedes Grand Prix, Wolff celebrated numerous podiums and successes for both teams, such as a 1–2–3–4 finish at Spielberg, Austria in his ‘home race’, as well as at Monza, Italy, in both Qualifying and Race classifications.
In 2020, Mercedes won its record seventh consecutive double world championship. The record had previously been held by Ferrari when it won five consecutive double world championships between 2000 and 2004. Mercedes also holds the record of seven consecutive Driver’s Championships from 2014 to 2020. This record was also previously held by Ferrari with five titles from 2000 to 2004. In 2020, Mercedes’ record of seven consecutive Constructor’s Championships surpassed that of Ferrari’s six consecutive Constructor’s Championships set between 1999-2004. Wolff’s achievements were recognized through the presentation of a John Bolster Award from Todt at the 2018 Autosport Awards. Wolff subsequently received the President’s Award from Todt, along with team non-executive Chairman Niki Lauda, at the 2018 FIA Prize Giving Gala held in St Petersburg, Russia.
Toto Wolff Net Worth
Toto Wolff’s net worth is estimated to be around $450 million.
Although his career in a car wasn’t the most illustrious one, Wolff refused to be dissuaded. Remaining in the game, Wolff turned his attentions to the technology side of motorsports with his first venture being Marchfifteen in 1998
His next avenue saw him give birth to Marchsixteen Investments in 2004, an Internet and technology companies. Wolff eventually turned his attention to the land of motorsports with him going onto invest in both the Williams F1 team and German HWA AG.
Wolff had purchased a 49% stake in the German HWA AG, a company that runs the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race program for Mercedes Benz. His acumen saw him eventually wade into Mercedes AMG Petronas where he currently holds 30% of the stake and is also the team principal and CEO.
Personal life
Wolff lives with his second wife, the Scottish racer Susie Wolff (née Stoddart) between homes in Oxfordshire, England, and Ermatingen at Lake Constance, Switzerland. On 11 April 2017, Susie announced on Twitter that she had given birth to their first child the previous day.
Wolff also has overall responsibility for the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team and occasionally attends Formula E races.
Wolff speaks fluent German, English, French, Italian, and Polish. He has two children from a previous marriage.
Wolff was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University for his services to Motorsport in May 2021.
