Flavio Briatore: “Real wealth lies in creating it around you”

The former Renault F1 Team boss spoke at length to Forbes about creating wealth and his inspiring career.

Returning to Formula One this year in an ambassadorial role while continuing with his many business ventures, Flavio Briatore was keen to stress the importance of creating jobs, rather than making oneself wealthy.

“Wealth means you can have the best doctors, and live a comfortable life, but it takes a lot of work, so you don’t even have time to enjoy it,” he said. “Real wealth lies in creating it around you and seeing many people around you becoming rich thanks to you.”

His view on the work market in Italy

On the subject of social unrest in Italy, Flavio Briatore considers that the country “still has a communist mentality”, and that Italy is “a country of envy, jealousy and resentment”. Increasingly present in the Middle East through his group, the Italian explained why he was investing more there and less in his home country.

“There is no bureaucracy and no oppressive restrictions,” he says. “In Italy, the answer is always ‘no’. It takes months or even years to get a project off the ground. This is exactly why our group has a very limited presence in Italy. In Middle Eastern countries, investors are welcomed with a different approach. They get support.”

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Back on the subject of Italy, the former owner of English football club Queens Park Rangers says there are too many “labour taxes”, “wages are very low” but that is “impossible to lay workers off”.

His new role in Formula 1

Asked what he thinks makes a good manager, Flavio Briatore says they should “make sure that everyone is on board and identifies with the project and the company. They should help them to improve their quality of life and make everyone understand that they are an integral part of the project.”

Speaking about his return to Formula 1, the Twiga founder explained that he was managing “the entertainment side”, a department that had been “lagging behind”,  through “the Paddock Club”, while contributing to “the expansion of Grand Prix to new countries.”

Flavio Briatore was also keen to stress the work achieved by Stefano Domenicali over the last few seasons, saying that “Formula 1 has never been as popular as it is at the moment.”