A spokesman for Ecclestone's wife Slavica said on Thursday that she had filed for divorce, but that seemed to come as news to the diminutive motor racing chief when he was asked about it by London's Evening Standard newspaper.
'Really? Oh... we will see. I didn't even know she had a PR company. You hear of things - I must find out,' he said, adding that his wife had moved out of their London home because of noise from building works next door.
The couple have been married for nearly 24 years and are worth a reported 2.4 billion pounds (S$5.3 billion), prompting lawyers to predict that any divorce settlement could break records.
Ms Margaret Hatwood, an associate at law firm Thomas Eggar, said it has got 'every chance of being the largest case ever' in English law.
Although she played down reports that Slavica Ecclestone, a Croatian former model, could get up to 50 per cent of the fortune, she added that the length of the marriage could have a big impact on the case.
'It's going to make a significant difference because one of the factors the courts look at is the length and that's one reason why Heather Mills did not get so much,' she told AFP.
Mills, who married former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney in 2002, was awarded 24.3 million pounds in a divorce accord agreed in March after lengthy and acrimonious negotiations.
Mr Simon Bethel, of law firm Mills and Reeve, said it could be complicated to put a figure on the extent of their wealth.
'Part of the family wealth is already reputed to be controlled by Mrs Ecclestone through a Jersey-based trust fund, and thus the area of dispute may revolve around quantifying the value of Mr Ecclestone's motor racing empire - that rather modest concern known as Formula One,' he said.
Media reports suggest that Slavica Ecclestone, 50, moved out of the family home in Chelsea, an affluent part of west London, the weekend of the Brazilian Grand Prix at the start of this month which saw Lewis Hamilton become F1 world champion.
Bernie Ecclestone, 78, is chief executive of Alpha Prema which owns Formula One. Last year he also took over Championship football club Queens Park Rangers with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.
The couple, who married in 1985, have two daughters, Petra, 19, and Tamara, 24. -- AFP

the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Let's sing ' Money Money Money.. Its a rich man's world'
surely, for $
can it be because he is very handsome?
maybe he got a solid mannual gear knob for her to ride at nite...now no knob liao, so she gives up, no more nite races.
so she tried many gears and found his to be the best?
Originally posted by skythewood:so she tried many gears and found his to be the best?
after 24 years of nite races with his knob, she found that he is the best till Singapore start the nite race, when she arrived here, she found that there are bigger knobs here...so she changed knob.
she cant wait for him to pass on, so she decided to settle for half of it. . .
hmmmm
Originally posted by angel7030:
after 24 years of nite races with his knob, she found that he is the best till Singapore start the nite race, when she arrived here, she found that there are bigger knobs here...so she changed knob.
so singapore has better knobs ah...
you tried how many here le?
Originally posted by skythewood:so singapore has better knobs ah...
you tried how many here le?
No, not that singapore hv better knobs, it is because she was living in a well not knowing that there are bigger knobs until she test drive here and discovered that actually her Bernie has the smallest knob.
I hv yet to try any knob here, cos my car gear knob is build in at the steering wheel.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
man is he short.
or the wife tall
At least he is not insecure and does not behaved like an insecure male, unlike many others and especially in Singapore. ![]()
Look at the diff in height. ![]()
Big big chicken.
Not to mention expensive too.
Ecclestone kept trying, after meeting her at a promotional event, in spite of the language barrier and height and age differences. He's a ruthless businessman after all.
That said, the only thing that their daughters have inherited from him is their accent.
Originally posted by skythewood:man is he short.
or the wife tall
the wife must be a lady boy
Originally posted by Uraniumfish:Big big chicken.
r u blind??, that is an ostrich, not chicken ya