Mario Gabriele Andretti was born on 28 February 1940, in the territory of Istria, Italy, which today is located in Motovun, Croatia. Mario Andretti is considered to be one of the most successful all-time race car drivers in the world. In a car-racing career stretching over more than 35 years beginning in the early 60s, Mario won races in NASCAR, IndyCar, World Sportscar and Formula One – only Dan Gurney has managed the same feat. Winning in such differing types of car at the top level is the mark of a true champion.
So just how rich is Mario Andretti? Sources estimate that Mario has a net worth of over $100 million, accumulated from his years of outstanding success in car racing
Mario Andretti Net Worth $100 Million
In 1955 the Andretti family moved to the United States of America and settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, actually a car-racing hub. Andretti’s passion for racing began in his early childhood, competing with his twin brother Aldo in box cars, and watching the Mille Miglia. Then when teenagers, they worked at their uncle’s garage, surrounded by cars all the time of course. Mario’s dreams of becoming a race car driver soon came to reality, as the brothers modified a 1948 Hudson Hornet with their own money, and began racing in Nazareth. They won races, which their parents knew nothing about, until during one of those races Mario’s brother was seriously injured. However, it did not stop Mario from racing.
In the mid-1960s Mario Andretti became a professional driver, having initially raced midget and stock cars, and then sprint cars. Gradually Andretti established himself as professional race car driver, and secured a drive in NASCAR, winning the 1967 Daytona 500, but his ambition was to drive open-wheelers at the top level, so Mario competed in Champ Cars as well, the highest level of open wheelers in the US at that time, and then it became Indy Car. Mario won the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, but already had his eye on moving to Formula One, the worldwide open-wheeler championship. Mario improved his net worth considerably during these years, as even if he wasn’t actually winning, the salaries of the drivers were quite generous.
The designer and owner of Lotus, Colin Chapman, gave Mario his first drive in in Formula One 1968 at the 1968 United States Grand Prix, but Mario Andretti still divided his time between the US -based championships, and Formula One over the next few years. His first win was for Ferrari at the 1971 South African Grand Prix., but didn’t commit to Formula One until 1975, after which Andretti drove for such teams as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Williams, etc, but is most successful year was 1978, when he won six races and the championship. Actually, his last win was the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix Formula One race, as the cars he drove in later years were uncompetitive.Regardless, these years in Formula One were very profitable for Mario’s net worth.
Concurrently though, he drove in the Le Mans 24 Hour race and other sportscar events, being part of teams like Porsche AG, Panoz Motorsports, Holman Moody, and others, to the extent where Andretti gained worldwide fame, and was chosen as the Driver of the Year three times, in 1964, 1967 and 1984.
Mario returned to the US and IndyCar racing in 1982, tired of the inconsistency in Formula One cars, and continued racing for the next 12 years, winning the championship in 1984, in his last win came in 1993, the oldest ever winner at 53 years of age. He retired the following year, accumulating net worth to the end!
Despite the fact that Mario Andretti retired from racing, he did not lose his fame or interest in racing. First of all, Andretti writes in a column about race car driving. Moreover, from time to time Mario can be seen on screen. He appeared in the television show “Home Improvement”, and the documentary “Dust to Glory”. Andretti also voiced his own character in the cartoon “Cars”. From 2012 Andretti has been acting as the ambassador for the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and for the US Grand Prix, which includes promoting Formula One in the US, and motorsports in general at COTA. These involvements also added to the overall amount of Mario Andretti’s net worth.
Concerning the personal life of this former Italian-American race car champion, Mario Andretti married Dee Ann in 1961, and they have a daughter and two sons, Michael and Jeff, who have become a top drivers in their own right, even sharing drives with the old man!
