Toto Wolff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Toto Wolff
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Wolff in 2022
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Torger Christian Wolff
12 January 1972 Vienna, Austria
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| Alma mater | Vienna University of Economics and Business (dropped out) |
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| Children | 3 |
Torger Christian "Toto" Wolff was born on January 12, 1972. He is an Austrian investor and a leader in motorsport. He used to be a racing driver himself. Since 2013, Toto Wolff has been the team principal and CEO of the Mercedes team in Formula One. Under his leadership, Mercedes won eight straight World Constructors' Championship titles from 2014 to 2021. He also led the Mercedes-EQ in Formula E, where they won two team championships.
Wolff started his racing career in Formula Ford. He won a race at the 1994 24 Hours Nürburgring. Later, he raced in the FIA GT Championship and Italian GT Championship. As an investor, he started companies like Marchfifteen and Marchsixteen. These companies first focused on internet and technology businesses. He now invests in industrial and public companies, including Williams F1 and German HWA AG.
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Early Life
Toto Wolff was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 12, 1972. His mother was a doctor from Poland, and his father was from Romania. He grew up in Vienna and went to a well-known French school there. When he was eight, his father was diagnosed with brain cancer. His parents separated after this. His father passed away when Toto was 15 years old.
Business Ventures
Wolff started his first investment company, Marchfifteen, in 1998. He then founded Marchsixteen in 2004. These companies first invested in internet and technology businesses. Since 2003, Wolff has focused on investing in medium-sized industrial companies.
One of his investments was in HWA AG in 2006. He bought a 49% share and helped the company go public in 2007. HWA AG managed the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing program for Mercedes-Benz. They also developed F3 engines and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 racing car.
Wolff also invested in BRR Rallye Racing, a large supplier of rally car parts in Europe. He co-owns a sports management company with former F1 driver Mika Häkkinen. They helped manage racing drivers like Valtteri Bottas. In 2020, Wolff bought a small share in Aston Martin. This investment did not affect his role with Mercedes. He also sold his shares in Williams F1 in 2020.
Wolff was also a director and CEO for the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team. He sometimes attended Formula E races. In August 2021, Mercedes won both the drivers' and teams' championships in Formula E. His wife, Susie Wolff, became the first female team principal to be on the podium at a world championship motor race.
Wolff is also the vice-chairman of the Mary Bendet Foundation. This foundation helps improve the lives of children who are not as fortunate.
Racing Career
Wolff began his motorsport journey in 1992. He raced in the Austrian and German Formula Ford championships until 1994. In 1994, he won his class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race.
In 2002, he finished sixth in the N-GT category of the FIA GT Championship. He won one race that year. He then moved to the Italian GT Championship in 2003. In 2004, he won a race there with Lorenzo Case. He also raced with Karl Wendlinger in the FIA GT Championship.
Wolff was the runner-up in the Austrian Rally Championship in 2006. He also won the 2006 Dubai 24 Hour race. He has been an instructor at the Walter Lechner Racing School. In 2009, he set a lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Porsche RSR.
Formula One Leadership
In 2009, Toto Wolff bought a share of the Williams Formula One Team. He joined their board of directors. In 2012, he became the executive director of Williams F1. That year, the team won its last race to date at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.
In January 2013, Wolff left Williams F1. He became an executive director for the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. He also bought 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. The famous racer Niki Lauda owned another 10%.
Wolff took charge of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities. In 2014, he sold most of his Williams shares. By March 2016, he had sold all his remaining shares in the Williams team.
As a leader at Mercedes, Wolff has seen many successes. This includes a 1-2-3-4 finish at the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix.
In 2020, Mercedes won its seventh straight double world championship. This means they won both the Constructors' and Drivers' titles. This broke the record previously held by Ferrari. Mercedes also holds the record for seven straight Driver's Championships from 2014 to 2020.
In 2018, Mercedes-Benz had a very successful year in motorsport. They won both F1 titles. They also won the 2018 Formula 2 Championship with George Russell. They won the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Mick Schumacher. Mercedes also won all three titles in their final season of DTM racing.
In 2019, Mercedes continued its success. They secured a sixth straight double world championship at the Japanese GP. This was a huge achievement in the sport's history. As of 2019, Wolff is the only Team Principal to win more than five straight double world championships.
In 2020, Mercedes won a seventh straight double world championship. This set a new record for consecutive constructors' championships. In the same season, Lewis Hamilton became the most successful driver in terms of race wins. He also won his seventh world drivers' championship, matching Michael Schumacher's record. The team then won an eighth straight constructors' world championship in 2021. However, they just missed out on the drivers' title in a close race at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Since 2014, Mercedes has won many races under Wolff's leadership. They have also achieved many pole positions and podium finishes.
After the 2020 F1 season, Wolff signed a new deal with Mercedes. He continued as team principal and CEO for at least three more years. His ownership stake in the team increased to 33%. After the 2023 F1 season, Wolff signed another three-year deal to stay with the Mercedes team.
As of 2023, Toto Wolff's net worth is estimated to be around US$1.6 billion.
Academic Recognition
In May 2021, Cranfield University gave Wolff an Honorary Doctorate. This was for his contributions to Motorsport.
In November 2021, Wolff became an Associate Fellow at the Oxford Saïd Business School. For two years, he shared his knowledge of high-performance teams and leadership.
In February 2022, a case study about Wolff's leadership at Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team was written by Anita Elberse at Harvard Business School. Wolff visited Harvard in March 2022 to teach this case study to MBA students. He led a discussion on leadership and team culture.
In May 2022, Wolff was named an executive fellow at Harvard Business School. In this role, he serves as a guest lecturer.
Personal Life
Wolff is married to Susie Wolff (born Stoddart). She is a Scottish former racecar driver. She is currently the managing director of F1 Academy. They got married in October 2011 and live in Monaco. On April 10, 2017, they had a son together. Toto Wolff also has another son and a daughter, Benedict and Rosa, from a previous marriage. He can speak German, English, French, Italian, and Polish fluently.
See also
In Spanish: Toto Wolff para niños
