Carroll Shelby Net Worth

Carroll Hall Shelby net worth is
$40 Million

Carroll Hall Shelby was born on 11 January 1923, in Leesburg, Texas USA, to Eloise and Warren Hall Shelby. He was an automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur, best known as the developer of AC Cobra and Shelby Mustangs performance cars. He passed away in 2012.

A famous race car designer, how wealthy was Carroll Shelby? Sources state that Shelby had acquired a net worth of over $ 40 million, up-dated as of mid-2016, established through his involvement in the race car industry. His assets included homes in LA and Las Vegas, a ranch in Pittsburg, Texas, small vintage planes and a number of cars, including his original Cobra.

Carroll Shelby Net Worth $40 Million

During his childhood, Shelby suffered heart problems, which caused him to spend much time in bed. After matriculating from Dallas’ Woodrow Wilson High School in 1940, he was enlisted in the US Army Air Corps during the World War II, serving as a flight instructor and test pilot, eventually reaching with the rank of staff sergeant.

Shelby began his racing career in the early 50s by competing in SCCA road racing events with borrowed sports cars. His skillful racing led him to be offered a drive for the Aston Martin, Maserati and Formula One teams. He appeared at a number of World Championship and non-championship events, taking the Le Mans victory in 1959 and the USAC championship in 1960. However, later that year he retired from racing, due to his heart condition, but with a healthy net worth.

In 1961 Shelby opened the Shelby School of High Performance Driving, and then Shelby American Inc. the following year. The company focused on manufacturing performance cars and related products. In collaboration with AC Cars of England and the Ford Motor Company, he built the legendary AC Cobra, an Anglo-American Ford-powered sports car, going on to build the 427 Cobra Roadster and the Cobra Daytona Coupe. In collaboration with Ford, he launched the Shelby Mustang GT350, Shelby GT500, Shelby GLHS and was involved in the development of the legendary Ford GT-40 series cars. Shelby soon became a sought-after constructor, producing vehicles for several companies. His net worth was certainly boosted.

Aside from manufacturing and marketing the sports cars, Shelby American also participated in racing, winning numerous events, including the World Championship in 1965.

In 1982 Shelby began his collaboration with Chrysler, creating performance cars based on Dodge products, such as the 1984 Dodge Omni GLH and the famed Dodge Viper, which greatly intensified his wealth.

In 1998 he formed Carroll Shelby Licensing, a subsidiary company based in Nevada. In 2003 Shelby American company went public, changing its name to Carroll Shelby International. At the same time Shelby launched Shelby Automobiles, another subsidiary company manufacturing vehicles and parts.

Shelby resumed his collaboration with Ford again in 2004, developing models such as Ford Shelby Cobra Concept, Ford Shelby GR-1 and Shelby GT500, improving his net worth once again. He also partnered other companies to continue the development of the Shelby Mustang-based cars such as the GT350SR and “Eleanor”.

Aside from his involvement in the performance car industry, back in the ’60s Shelby marketed a men’s deodorant called Carroll Shelby’s Pit-Stop… a Real Man’s Deodorant and created his own chili mix, marketing it internationally as Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Brand Chili Preparation. All added to his wealth. Shelby’s career brought him numerous awards and honors, including induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame and the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame.

In his personal life, Shelby was married several times. His first marriage was to Jeanne Fields, and lasted from 1943 to 1960; they had three children together. Shelby married actress Jan Harrison in 1962, but the marriage was annulled the same year. His last marriage was to English woman Cleo, who he married in 1997 and lived with until his death. After suffering from a heart ailment for a long time and undergoing a heart and kidney transplant, a race car legend died in 2012, being aged 89.

Shelby was involved in philanthropy too; he founded the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation, providing financial help to children with heart disease. The entrepreneur has also frequently been involved in controversies, such as his legal battles with Ford and several other companies over licensing disputes, including with Denice Halicki, widow of “Gone in 60 Seconds” creator H.B. Halicki, who sued Shelby for using the name “Eleanor”, the Mustang in the movie.


Full NameCarroll Shelby
Net Worth$40 Million
Date Of BirthJanuary 11, 1923, Leesburg, Texas, United States
DiedMay 10, 2012, Dallas, Texas, United States
Place Of BirthLeesburg, Texas
ProfessionRace car driver, Entrepreneur, Designer, Technical advisor to the Ford GT project
EducationDallas' Woodrow Wilson High School, US Army Air Corps
NationalityAmerican
SpouseLena Dahl Shelby (1991-1997), Jan Harrison (1962-1962), Jeanne Fields (1943-1960), Cleo Shelby (1997-2012, his death)
ChildrenPatrick Shelby, Michael Hall Shelby, Sharon Anne Shelby
ParentsEloise and Warren Hall Shelby
SiblingsAnne Shelby Ellison, Anne Shelby Ellison
NicknamesCarrol Shelby , Carol Shelby
IMDBhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790961
Awards1958 French Grand Prix (First entruy), 1959 Italian Grand Prix (Last Entry), Completed in competed in Formula One (1958, 1959)
NominationsAutomotive Hall of Fame, International Motor Sports Hall of Fame, Driver of the year (Sports Illustrated's 1956, 1957)
#Fact
1Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1992.
2Son of Warren Shelby, a rural mail carrier, and car enthusiast. He made his rounds in a 1928 Whippet. He served as a flight instructor in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He then worked in the Texas oil fields and became a chicken farmer.
3He entered his first auto race in 1952, driving in a quarter-mile drag meet, then won road races in the Southwest. He wore striped bib coveralls because he didn't have time to change. It became his signature outfit.
4He drove for the Aston-Martin team in 1954 at the race in Sebring, Florida. In November 1957 he won the 100-mile race at Riverside, California, in a one-seat Maserati.
5The Shelby-American team's Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. They broke Ferrari's winning streak. He teamed with Roy Salvadori of Britain to win in their Aston-Martin.
6He marketed a chili mix in 1969 and spent time in Africa in the 1970s hunting big game and organizing expeditions.
7He founded a wheel company and an automobile club. He returned to sports car design in 1982. When Lee Iacocca was Chairman of Chrysler, he hired Shelby and they designed special-edition performance models of the Dodge Charger and other cars.
8In 2003 he teamed with Ford in a partnership that included a new Mustang design. In 2005 he built the first Shelby Mustang Concept CSM:00001, with this car, he proved to Ford he can still built great cars. Then in 2007 he went to the New York Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center to introduce the Ford GT500KR. Since 2005 there has been a whole line of Shelby cars til present day!.
9He is survived by his wife, Cleo; his children, Patrick Shelby, Michael Shelby, and Sharon Shelby; and a sister Anne Shelby Ellison.
10He had homes in the Bel Air hills of Los Angeles, CA; in Las Vegas, NV; and owned a ranch in Pittsburg, TX, where he raised miniature horses and African cattle while designing cars in his later years. He owned small vintage planes and numerous cars including his original Cobra.
11In 1959 he was the second American-born driver to win the 24 hours of Le Mans in France. A heart ailment forced him to quit driving professionally in 1962. He founded Shelby American in 1962 to build his Cobra cars.
12He partnered with Lee Iacocca of Ford in 1964 to create a high-performance Mustang version for racing. In January 1965 the first Shelby Mustang made its debut.
13Developer of the Ford Mustang Shelby and Cobra.
14Had a heart transplant in 1990. After after seeing two children die because they didn't get needed organs, he formed the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation, which helps get needed organs for children.
15Racecar driver on the Grand Prix circuit.

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
John Q2002Heart Transplant Patient (uncredited)

Miscellaneous

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Grand Prix1966technical advisor

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Flying the Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project2014Documentary
Drive2005TV SeriesHimself (2005)
AutoRox Awards2005TV SpecialHimself
Motor Trend Television1995TV SeriesHimself (1997-2000)
The Car's the Star1994TV Series documentaryHimself - Shelby Motors
Speed Week1957Documentary shortHimself (uncredited)

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Grand Tour2016TV SeriesHimself
The 24 Hour War2016DocumentaryHimself
Dan Gurney: Motorsports Legend2014ShortHimself
Modern Marvels2002TV Series documentaryHimself

Known for movies

Source
IMDB Wikipedia

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