Jean Todt

Biography of Jean Todt

Todt was born in Pierrefort, France, in 1946. At a young age, Todt became acquainted with motor racing: he borrowed his father's Mini Cooper S for a friend to participate in a rally. Not long after, Todt himself began working as a rally driver and navigator. He continued this career until the end of 1981. In 1981, he and teammate Guy Frequelin won the World Constructors' Championship for Talbot.

Jean Tedt at Peugeot Talbot Sport

In 1982, Peugeot-Talbot appointed Jean Todt as manager. In the same year, he started the development of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16. The car brought great success: Peugeot-Talbot was the best performing team within the Group-B era. In 1985 and 1986, Todt grabbed both the constructors' and drivers' titles in the WRC with Peugeot-Talbot. Todt continued as team boss of the French racing stable through the early 1990s and achieved many successes, including wins in the famous Dakar Rally (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991).

Jean Todt Ferrari

In 1993, Todt joined the Italian F1 team Scuderia Ferrari. Todt was appointed to reorganize the team and bring it back to the top. One way he did this was to bring in Michael Schumacher from Benetton, with Todt also managing to persuade Ross Brawn to join the Italian team. In the years that followed, Todt succeeded in his ambitious plan to revitalize Ferrari. Under Todt's leadership, Michael Schumacher became Formula One World Champion no less than five consecutive times (2000-2005). In addition, Ferrari became the Constructors' Champion eight times during Todt's involvement.

Jean Todt as Ferrari CEO

In 2004, Todt was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Ferrari. He held this role in addition to his position as team boss. He did so until 2006. When Michael Schumacher announced he was hanging up his helmet, Todt also stepped down. He took on a new role as "Special Advisor," which he held until 2008. In March 2009, Todt bid a final farewell to the Italian racing team.

Jean Todt FIA

Shortly after Todt ended his Ferrari contract, Todt succeeded Max Mosley as president of the FIA. Todt was re-elected twice for a four-year term and remained at the helm of the FIA until 2021. The 2021 Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was the last race Todt attended as FIA president. He was succeeded by Mohammed Ben Sulayem in December 2021.

Jean Todt Michael Schumacher

Even after their joint period of success at Ferrari, Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher remained friends. Schumacher was seriously injured in a skiing accident in 2012, which almost cost him his life. The special bond between the two makes Todt one of the few people still in contact with the seven-time world champion. For example, Todt told German news platform RTL that he visits the Schumacher family - whenever possible - three times a week and watches F1 races with Schumacher.

Jean Todt's private life

Jean Todt age

Todt was born on Feb. 25, 1946. That currently makes him 77 years old.

Michelle Yeoh and Jean Todt

Todt has been married to Michelle Yeoh, a Malaysian-Chinese actress, since 2004.

Son Nicolas Todt

Jean Todt has one son from a previous relationship: Nicolas Todt. Nicolas is manager of several well-known drivers, including Felipe Massa, Daniil Kvyat, Pastor Maldonado and Charles Leclerc. In addition, Nicolas Todt dealt with various other matters within the world of motorsports. For example, he served as a scout and he co-owned French team ART Grand Prix until 2018.

Net worth of Jean Todt

Todt reportedly has a net worth of $16 million.