Talk:Bernie Ecclestone

International Sportsworld Communicators
Apparently, Ecclestone used to own International Sportsworld Communicators (the company that owns the television and commercial rights to the World Rally Championship) before he sold it to David Richards in 2000. Unfortunately, I know very little about how Ecclestone came to own ISC, or the details of its sale. Maybe someone more knowledgeable could write something about this. SamH|Talk 22:59, 30 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * Done --Mark83 18:23, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

No mention of his special friendship with Tony Blair then? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.95.100.109 (talk • contribs)
 * If you're referring to the donation scandal, yes under "Labour Party scandal". If you're referring to some special relationship with Blair in particular? No. Mark83 13:35, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Grand Prix driver
To be a Grand Prix driver you need to compete in a Grand Prix! Bernie didn't. PaddyBriggs 06:41, 6 April 2007 (UTC)


 * He entered the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix but did not qualify. I think this counts as "driver." On the other hand, the article says he tried to qualify for two races in that year, but I only see him in the Monaco GP. JCCyC (talk) 23:30, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * If memory serves he was miles off the pace at Silverstone too.--Don Speekingleesh (talk) 11:22, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think there's too much doubt that he drove during Qualifying at Monaco and Silverstone, the debate seems to be whether he was actually trying to qualify or was just messing about. Bretonbanquet (talk) 11:50, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

In the table about his career we should include silverstone because he technically entered qualifing, whether he was really trying or not. F1rocks 19:37, 13 December 2010 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Editadam (talk • contribs)
 * Indeed (noting that his number of races in List of Formula One drivers is already shown as "2"). I've fixed it. Thanks. DH85868993 (talk) 22:06, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

He is certainly named as a driver but has never actually done a single lap in a race or in qualifying:

He is listed as DNQ at Formula1.com but his name does not appear at the British Grand Prix. Further, that site only includes one race detail on his profile page.

I would say that we go with saying just one entry. violet/riga [talk] 20:10, 20 November 2011 (UTC)


 * FORIX / Autosport list both entries. He was on the entry list for Silverstone as a named driver, whether he actually drove the thing or not. F1.com contains a lot of mistakes. [User:Bretonbanquet|Bretonbanquet]] (talk) 20:39, 20 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The article doesn't do a very good job of explaining this so hopefully we can clarify things soon. violet/riga [talk] 00:41, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Slavica Ecclestone
Slavica Ecclestone was 1. born in Yugoslavia (todays territory of Croatia) but she is a Serb which parents are from the town LAKTASH in the Republik Serbland (Republika Srpska- Bosnia and Hercegovina) so that their children are spoken the serbian language. 212.87.151.104 (talk) 16:00, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
 * What I have put in and referenced is that she was born in Rijeka in Croatia in the then Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. I've deleted the bit about the daughters speaking Serbian or Croatian, because it's not very important, it's unreferenced, and it seems to be a source of contention. If anyone has a reference that says Slavica is 'ethnically' Serbian, then by all means provide it (although you might want to think about whether it's actually important, we're all just people, you know. Peace. ;-)) 4u1e (talk) 08:45, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Quite a few people have added her parents ethicity as Serbian. I've got no reason not to believe this, but it is a controversial topic (sadly) and is not covered by the current reference. Before adding Slavica's parents' ethnicity, please find a reliable source which supports the words you want to add. Cheers. 4u1e (talk) 06:29, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Jewish?
Why is Bernie listed as Jewish? Is there a reference for this? Karpouzi (talk) 08:31, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Removed from list until a source is found. Karpouzi (talk) 10:20, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Found this at Google - list of Jewish millionaires. Bernie is at 442nd place. Also here, at the famous Jews homepage. --User:SpeedKing1980User:SpeedKing1980 (talk) 07:21, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Erm, you may not have noticed, but your first suggested source is a 'Scholarly Library of Facts about Domestic & Worldwide Zionist Criminality'. It's just possible that there's some kind of non-neutral agenda there...which would probably include getting as many people as possible onto the list of powerful and influential members of the Jewish cabal that secretly rules the world . The second site says itself that it may be unreliable, and since this site is one of its listed sources, may be a circular reference anyway. 4u1e (talk) 07:57, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
 * A quick look at his biography (Bernie's Game by Terry Lovell) suggests not, since his parents were married in St Peter's Church in St Peter South Elham in Suffolk. Doesn't rule it out altogether, I suppose, but in the absence of any other reliable evidence, the category should probably be removed. Cheers. 4u1e (talk) 07:57, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Just to confuse things further - the Times have mentioned that he's Jewish (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3654740.ece), think I saw it somewhere else too. But I'm more inclined to believe Terry Lovell's book.Don Speekingleesh (talk) 10:11, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Just to be clear, Lovell's book doesn't say explicitly that he's not. It's just that if his parents were married in a Christian church it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that they were Jewish, and if they weren't Jewish then it seems unlikely that Ecclestone is (again, not impossible). It would sort of depend what you meant by Jewish in the first place as well. I should also add that details of much of Ecclestone's early life are rather hazy, and (in my opinion) that's at least partly down to his own efforts to make them so! 4u1e (talk) 12:09, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
 * By the by, the Timesonline site seems to copy some of its content from Wikipedia, so it's not necessarily a good source either! 4u1e (talk) 14:42, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
 * BBC website has also mentioned that Ecclestone is Jewish recently, but it's sort of 'in passing'. 4u1e (talk) 16:45, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
 * That BBC link has now been updated to say the Jewish comment was in error.Don Speekingleesh (talk) 19:43, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
 * That rather supports the view that it's one of those stories that gain credibility just by being often repeated! 4u1e (talk) 16:13, 20 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The hate site that includes him on a list of billionaires admits that "SOME OF MY GUESSES MAYBE WRONG AS TO WHO IS OR IS NOT JEWISH". Wikipedia has had a past run in with Jewwatch and I suggest that anyone considering citing information from that site looks at the history, and asks some of the admins who were involved at the time if their opinion of that site has changed before using it as a source.  Ϣere Spiel  Chequers  09:13, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Completely agree. Just to be clear, that's the first ref suggested above by Speedking. The second ref also says itself that it may be unreliable. Neither are suitable for use as sources. 4u1e (talk) 06:12, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Controversy
"Stephen Pollard, editor of The Jewish Chronicle, said: “Mr Ecclestone is either an idiot or morally repulsive. Either he has no idea how stupid and offensive his views are or he does and deserves to be held in contempt by all decent people.”[23]"

Does that really belong in the article? He (Pollard) might not agree with what Ecclestone said, but that is just blatant personal attack and the last part is really an "appeal to flattery" argument. Calling someone idiot or morally repulsive and suggesting that anyone who likes him is not decent...? 88.196.247.187 (talk) 12:38, 6 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Ecclestone has since called himself a fool, so I don't think there is a problem here. --81.77.208.121 (talk) 20:54, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Why not add that quote as well? There needs to be a balance, or it all goes. Bretonbanquet (talk) 21:26, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Yet another Ecclestone controversy
I just added this section of my own authorship to the article. It was obvoiously a very bad move by Mr. Ecclestone!

Holy Crown of Hungary controversy

On the 30th of July, 2010, in advance of the 25th Hungarian Grand Prix, Mr. Ecclestone and several notable Formula-1 pilots were greeted by Pál Schmitt, the newly elected President of the Republic in the historic building of the Hungarian Parliament. President Schmitt pointed out the 1000 year old Holy Crown of Hungary and the accompanying set of royal regalias (on permanent display in an bulletproof glass vault) to Mr. Ecclestone, who jokingly remarked they look like copies "Made in China". (Video of the event: http://index.hu/video/2010/07/30/made_in_china_a_szent_koronan/)

The affair was shown on live television in Hungary, creating an immediate public scandal due to the Crown's high standing. The Holy Crown is widely considered a historic personifiation of the hungarians' country, to such extent, that for several centuries it was legally codified as the formal monarch of Hungary - with kings and queens acting as mere executive arms of the Holy Crown's wisdom, which gained its spiritual powers from the act of King St. Stephen I, who donated his entire country to the heavenly queen Virgin Mary on his deathbed.

The affair is notable, even though Mr. Ecclestone is a british person, who may not need to be well-educated hungarian history. In fact the hungarian Holy Crown is featured and easily recognizable in the famous british painting "The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon" by Edward Burne-Jones, which is probably well-known to all people schooled in England. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.131.210.163 (talk) 16:05, 30 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I've removed it for now. I couldn't find any online refs to the controversy about this (other than non-reliable sources like comments pages). I don't doubt the offence caused, but we need refs. 4u1e (talk) 05:31, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I think the scandal will only erupt in full AFTER the hungarian grand prix has ended. There is too much economic interest in the race to expel B. E. on the spot and possibly put the sunday race in jeopardy.
 * However, the incident will not be easily forgotten, as the far right parlamentary party JOBBIK and the semi-banned neo-nazi paramilitary troops "Magyar Garda" are all over it. The alleged jewish ethnicity of B. E. doesn't help either, as the above mentioned two organizations are openly anti-zionist, so it's like they hit the jackpot with this incident. 87.97.100.95 (talk) 09:49, 31 July 2010 (UTC)
 * As I say - it needs refs. If they exist, then by all means add the incident. 4u1e (talk) 03:19, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Earlier controversy
Ecclestone's business life before F1 is notably absent. If anyone has details on this and a decent source it could be very interesting. I know bits from various contemporaries of Ecclestone but that's clearly OR so I will not be adding it to the article. da nn o _ u k 20:44, 19 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I've seen a mention in defunct British magazine "Super Classics" of some chap having bought a couple of Maserati Ghiblis "off Bernie Ecclestone and Monkey Brown" which suggests he was still a second-hand car dealer in the late 1960s. I do not know who Mr Brown was. Mr Larrington (talk) 09:50, 1 May 2016 (UTC)
 * These two article have some details on Tony "Monkey" Brown:, . DH85868993 (talk) 08:28, 2 May 2016 (UTC)

Highest Earner in Britain
Shouldn't it go in this article somewhere that Ecclestone was at one time the highest earner in Great Britain? ACEOREVIVED (talk) 11:01, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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Controversies section
I was surprised to see such a substantial Controversies section. I thought that such sections have been deprecated and that the content such be woven into the article. Has policy changed? Are such sections OK now? 77.99.37.105 (talk) 23:38, 30 June 2022 (UTC)