What is Gil de Ferran’s Net Worth?
Gil de Ferran was a professional racing driver and team owner who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of his death. Unfortunately he died on December 29, 2023. Gil de Gerran was the 2000 and 2001 CART World Series Champion for Team Penske. He also won the 2003 Indianapolis 500, and came in second place with his own de Ferran Motorsports in the LMP1 class of the 2009 American Le Mans Series. Earlier in his career, de Ferran raced in the British Formula Three and International Formula 3000 series, winning the British F3 championship in 1992.
Florida Mansion
In 2010, Gil de Ferran paid$1.6 million for a plot of land in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He proceeded to custom build a 9,000 square foot modern mansion on the property. He listed this home for sale in October 2021 for $13 million. The listing was eventually pulled and he remained the owner at the time of his death in December 2024.
Early Life
Gil de Ferran was born on November 11, 1967 in Paris, France.
Start of Racing Career
Galvanized by the success of Brazilian racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began kart racing in the 1980s. He won the Formula Ford championship in Brazil in 1987, and in 1991 started racing in the British Formula Three series. Driving for Edenbridge Racing, de Ferran finished in third in the 1991 season. The next season, he moved to Paul Stewart Racing and came in first place for the season. In both 1993 and 1994, de Ferran drove for Paul Stewart Racing in the International Formula 3000 series. He came in fifth place in the former year and third place in the latter.
CART / IRL IndyCar Racing
In 1994, de Ferran was invited to test a CART IndyCar by Hall/VDS Racing. Impressed by the young driver, the team offered de Ferran to drive in 1995. That year, he dominated the Cleveland race of the PPG IndyCar World Series before being taken out while attempting to lap Scott Pruett. He ultimately scored his first win in the last race of the year, at Laguna Seca Raceway, giving him a 14th-place finish in the series. For the 1995 season, de Ferran was named PPG IndyCar World Series Rookie of the Year. In 1996, he again only managed to score a single win, this time in Cleveland. The following year, after the retirement of driver and team owner Jim Hall, de Ferran moved to Walker Racing. He ended up finishing the 1997 season as runner-up to Alex Zanardi, despite having no wins. In 1998, de Ferran once again came up short, this time finishing 12th in the standings and again without any victories.
In 1999, de Ferran finally had his breakthrough season. With his victory at Portland International Raceway, he claimed his first win since 1996. Toward the end of the season, he joined Team Penske, the team with which he would experience his greatest successes. During CART qualifying at California Speedway in 2000, de Ferran set both the track record and closed course record for fastest lap, at around 241 mph. He subsequently won the CART World Series, and in 2001, did so for the second consecutive year. In 2003, de Ferran won the Indianapolis 500, finishing right above his teammate Hélio Castroneves. After that victory, de Ferran decided he would retire at the end of the year. He went on to win his final career race at Texas Motor Speedway. In the 2003 championship standings, de Ferran finished as runner-up to Scott Dixon.
(Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images)
Formula One Managerial Career
Following his retirement from racing, de Ferran became sports director of the BAR-Honda Formula One team. He served in that position from 2005 until his resignation in the summer of 2007. Later, in 2018, de Ferran became sports director for McLaren, working for that team until early 2021. He returned to McLaren in 2023 in a consultant advisory role.
De Ferran Motorsports
In early 2008, de Ferran announced that he would be returning to the track with his own team, de Ferran Motorsports, to compete in the American Le Mans Series. For the 2008 season, he ran the team and shared driving duties with Simon Pagenaud. The team scored three podium finishes in eight starts during the season. In 2009, de Ferran Motorsports competed in the LMP1 division of the American Le Mans Series and came in second place with five wins and seven poles.
Prior to the beginning of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season, de Ferran merged his team with Jay Penske’s and Steve Luczo’s Luczo Dragon Racing, forming de Ferran Dragon Racing. This represented the realization of de Ferran’s goal to return to IndyCar racing. In the 2010 season, the team earned four top-ten finishes and finished 17th overall. However, de Ferran Dragon Racing was short-lived, as it was forced to shut down in 2011 due to a lack of sponsorships.
Personal Life and Death
With his English wife Angela, who worked for Paul Stewart Racing, de Ferran has a daughter named Anna and a son named Luke. The family lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
On December 29, 2023, de Ferran had a heart attack while driving with his son during a private event at the Concours Club in Opa-locka, Florida. He passed away, aged 56.
