Meet Flavio Briatore, ‘Italy’s Donald Trump’ and Heidi Klum’s baby daddy: the controversial centimillionaire dated Naomi Campbell, discovered F1’s Fernando Alonso, and heads a political party

Jan 13 , 2025

Meet Flavio Briatore, “Italy’s Donald Trump” and Heidi Klum’s baby daddy. Photo: @briatoreflavio/Instagram

Briatore appears to be rekindling his relationship with his 3-decades-younger former Wonderbra model ex-wife, hosted the Italian version of The Apprentice, and has been in trouble with the law

Flavio Briatore might just be one of the most well-connected and influential characters in the worlds of sports, politics and fashion you’ve never heard of.

With an estimated net worth of US$400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, the 74-year-old Italian dates world-famous supermodels, turned Formula One into a commercial powerhouse, and has counted among his friends the late Italian former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and yes, Donald Trump.

Recently, he’s been making headlines for reportedly rekindling his relationship with ex-wife and baby mama Elisabetta Gregoraci, a 44-year-old former Wonderbra model he separated from back in 2017.

Here’s what else you need to know …

He made his fortune thanks to Benetton

Flavio Briatore got rich working for the Benetton fashion brand in its early days. Photo: @briatoreflavio/Instagram

Despite flunking his exams and scraping through high school with the lowest possible grades, according to La Repubblica, Briatore managed to land a job as a stockbroker in the early 70s. It was as a result that he met Luciano Benetton, creator of the Benetton fashion brand.

In 1977, Benetton invited Briatore to help manage the brand’s franchises in America. Its footprint grew from five stores to 800 in just over 20 years, per Rush Magazine, earning Briatore a fortune.

He’s famous for transforming F1

Flavio Briatore used Formula One to promote Benetton clothes. Photo: @briatoreflavio/Instagram

Briatore’s partnership with Benetton continued when the fashion founder asked him to be the marketing director of his recently acquired Formula One team. Briatore agreed, but by his own admission was uninterested in motor racing, so focused on the sport’s ability to promote Benetton’s clothes instead.