William Clifton France was born on 4 April 1933, in Daytona Beach, Florida USA, and was a motorsports executive, best known to have served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NASCAR from 1972 to 2000. He was the leader of the sanctioning body of the US based stock car racing industry, and succeeded his father founder Bill France Sr. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 1992.
How rich was Bill France? As of mid-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $2 billion, mostly earned through the success of NASCAR; his son would go on to become the CEO of the company. He was also nicknamed “Bill France Jr.” or “Little Billy”. All of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Bill France Net Worth $2 billion
Bill attended Seabreeze High School, and after matriculating went to the University of Florida. After graduation, he served two years in the US Navy, afrter which he started a career in racing. He grew up very familiar with racing, and even helped park cars at the Daytona Beach Road Course, working constantly, even during the construction of the Daytona International Speedway. He also rode off-road motorcycles, and started competing in the 1960s. He entered the motorcycle division of the Baja 1000 in the 1970s, but eventually left the motocross sport.
He started working in NASCAR, and his net worth increased over the years. He then became the vice-president of the company for six years before becoming the head of NASCAR when his father retired. During his tenure, NASCAR became a national sport, and he was instrumental in leading NASCAR to have an international reach. He started collaborating with people in Australia leading to a new race track, the first outside of the United States for NASCAR. This led to the creation of the sanctioning body Australian Stock Car Auto Racing (AUSCAR) though he eventually had a falling out with them. France also fostered the growth of the Daytona 500 and Daytona 200. While they had very few races aired on television during the 1970s, he later signed contracts which brought more races to television starting from the 1980s. His net worth continued to grow over the years.
In 2000, Bill was diagnosed with cancer, and he turned over the presidency to Mike Helton, also giving his CEO position to his son Brian France three years later, but still remaining on the board of directors. He also has a controlling interest in the operator International Speedway Corporation, which he served as a chairman until his death.
For his personal life, it is known that Bill was married to Betty Jane and they had two children. He passed away from lung cancer in 2007 and his death was reported in the Autism Speaks 400 Cup race held on the same day. His daughter Lisa France Kennedy became the president of the ISC, while his son Brian continues to serve as the chairman of NASCAR.
