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Slavica Ecclestone*

He may be 76 but Ecclestone is as passionate about the future of Formula One motor racing as ever and wants to expand into Asia. CVC, the private equity giant, bought F1 in 2005 and Ecclestone is a minority shareholder in the new company, Alpha Prema, that owns F1 although he remains as chief executive. Ecclestone made his fortune from television rights and spin-offs from F1. A bond issue in 1999 and the sale of 75% of the business a year later to Kirch netted him £1.9 billion. That money was transferred to Jersey-based trusts controlled by his wife, Slavica, 48, a Croatian-born former model. He is a generous donor to charity, always anonymously, to the tune of about £50m a year.