Tamara Ecclestone, daughter of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, had tens of millions of pounds worth of property stolen in 2019 but was unable to make an insurance claim.
Tamara Ecclestone's Kingston mansion was burgled while she and her husband, businessman Jay Rutland, were on holiday in Lapland, Finland. The couple were devastated when they discovered they would not be able to recover a penny of the stolen property (around £25m) because the insurance policy on the £75m home included an exclusion for watches and jewellery. This was something that Tamara's family had previously overlooked.
The shocking revelations are among several shocking revelations from the podcast Heists, Scams and Lies, which launched on 23 April. Speaking on the podcast, businessman Jay Rutland took responsibility for a lack of due diligence that meant the family failed to claim compensation for the stolen valuables.
"Our total insurance claim was £40,000 or £45,000, and that was for the doors in the house because the thieves had damaged about 25 or 30 doors," Jay Rutland said. "Can you imagine, every door to every room was locked? That meant they had to pry open every single door. So I remember we made an insurance claim to replace those doors, but that was it. Nothing else was covered," said billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's son-in-law.
"Don't get me wrong, it was our fault, and obviously it teaches you the importance of checking the little things. But that was one of the exclusions in the policy - watches and jewellery, very specific."
Tamara Ecclestone's Kingston, London, mansion. Photo: DMThe Daily Mail reported that in just one hour, the thieves had made off with 400 pieces of jewellery, watches and a large amount of cash from the mansion. Tamara Ecclestone's husband said: "That's all the jewellery Tamara has accumulated since she was 16. Luckily, my wife didn't lose her wedding ring because she took it with her on holiday. But there are a lot of mementoes that her mother, father, family members and I gave her that were lost."
The burglary of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's daughter's mansion six years ago is considered the biggest in Britain. The stolen assets are believed to have been smuggled through Europe and other countries, never to be recovered. The thieves spent days monitoring the mansions of the rich and famous in London before choosing their final target, police sources said.
In addition to Tamara Eccleston's mansion, the properties of former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard and his wife and the late Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha were also targeted. The gang also had their eyes on the homes of supermodel Kate Moss and musician Eric Clapton.
Several members of the gang were arrested in 2022 and sentenced to a total of 28 years in prison. A Serbian man believed to be the mastermind remains in custody in his home country after his extradition request to the UK was rejected.
Bernie Ecclestone, born in 1930, is a famous British businessman. He was the CEO of the group that runs the famous Formula 1 racing tournament. The elderly billionaire has been through three marriages, of which Tamara and his sister Petra are his children with his second wife, Slavica Radic.
(According to Daily Mail)