Wealth makes people greedy, says ex-f1 boss’s daughter Petra
PETRA STUNT has said that “when you are wealthy, people use you and want money out of you” as she navigates a divorce battle with James Stunt over their £5.5billion fortune.
The 28-year-old daughter of Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 boss, has argued that being rich is harder than being famous, as money “changes people” and they “become so greedy”.
She is embroiled in a bitter divorce battle in which her estranged gold trader husband has traded insults with her father, whom he described as an “evil dwarf ”. In comments made a week before a judge ordered him to leave their £100 million Chelsea mansion, she told The Daily Telegraph: “I don’t really let a lot of people in my life. I feel wealth is almost harder than fame. When you are wealthy people use you and want money out of you. There is always some sort of ulterior motive. Whereas if you are famous, people are not going to become famous by being your friend.”
The couple, who have three children, wed in a castle in Rome in 2011 – a ceremony that cost £12million – and their marriage’s end could be as expensive as its beginnings, with some predicting the settlement may be one of the most expensive in history. She has employed Fiona Shackleton, who has represented Sir Paul Mccartney, while he has enlisted the help of lawyer David Sherborne, whose past clients include Hugh Grant. It is understood she left him two months ago amid allegations of abuse and overdoses but it was not until the judge’s order last week that he started moving his belongings out.
During the hearing at the Central Family Court, Mr Stunt, 35, laughed and banged his hands on the table in a performance described by the judge as “distracting”. He is said to have made a gun gesture before swearing about Mr Ecclestone under his breath and storming out. Mr Stunt’s assets are understood to include 200 luxury cars, a £15million wine collection and two £4million London properties.
See The Telegraph Magazine for full interview