NASCAR Chair & CEO BRIAN FRANCE's total assets topped $554.49M in ‘05, according to court documents released yesterday. His total income in ‘04 was $9.09M. The financial information was included in approximately 1,500 pages of a divorce case that was made public following a multiyear legal battle between the Charlotte Observer and France, who wanted to keep the divorce under seal. The case went all the way to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which yesterday mandated the file be opened. In addition to revealing France’s income in '04 and total assets in '05, it detailed property and assets owned in '07, including ownership of 10 homes valued at $21.73M; eight cars valued at $418,427; three airplanes valued at $58.3M; an 84-foot yacht valued at $5.2M; $259M in investments; and $120M in ISC stock. A '05 financial statement said, “Brian is likely to inherit substantial wealth from his parents, which, as of the date hereof, may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and could exceed $1 billion.” France married his wife, MEGAN, divorced, remarried her and divorced again between ‘01 and ‘08. The pair went to court over an alimony and child support dispute. France’s ‘04 income and ‘05 net worth were recorded as part of a prenuptial agreement with his wife. France took over NASCAR in ‘03 from his father, BILL FRANCE, JR., who died in ‘07. His father was included on Forbes’ list of billionaires. His mother, BETTY JANE, is still alive (Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer). In Charlotte, Alexander & Off in a front-page piece report the unsealed documents “provide a rare glimpse into how much money the privately held racing organization has generated for the France family.” Details of NASCAR’s internal finances “have been scarce for decades.” The Wheeler Co. Chair & former SMI President & CEO HUMPY WHEELER said, “No one has ever known what it’s worth" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/9).
