A fortunate turn of events; but as Klimenko revealed, not everything was a straightforward fairytale. My friends were there so I ran out of the car, and she went home and I think the pain just got too much for her — and that day she committed suicide. Klimenko, 60, has gone on to become a fan favourite, establishing Erebus Motorsport as a GT team in and then diving into Supercars two years later. From there, the team introduced the Mercedes AMG into Supercars — taking two race wins — before growing into a regular frontrunning team since moving to Holden and Melbourne ahead of Klimenko's house is an exuberant blend of architectural influences and decorating styles.
If a burglar ever made it past the security gate and the kilo rottweiler, snuck up the stairs and turned on the light, he would realise immediately that he was in the home of a funster. The room where Klimenko and I talk has a sweeping view of Sydney Harbour but I am distracted by the almost full-size replica of a brown bear crouched beside my chair. That, and the near-to-life-size model of a zebra standing on the other side of the coffee table. Sofas are festooned with cushions covered in sequins and fur.
A stool is upholstered in what appears to be the fleece of a long-haired sheep. It is hard to argue with this, especially when I notice the skull on the side table. But it is equally clear she is a formidable operator. As she puts it: "I just don't take no for an answer. John Saunders was a fan of Formula One — the elite international class of auto sport in which cars compete in grands prix around the word.
This weekend it's the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where the program will encompass the second meet in the Supercars series.
As a kid, Klimenko watched races on TV with her father. Hooked, she later ventured into the junior ranks of Australian motor sport, never driving herself — hurtling around the track made her queasy — but entering cars in amateur and semi-professional race categories for 15 years.
Then, in , she stepped up to the premier league, Supercars. Newton has no doubt the adjustment was difficult. Supercars has a reputation as the hardest-fought touring car championship in the world, he says. A race meeting is three days of politics, chicanery and nastiness, then for two hours there's sport out on the track. Klimenko got a cool welcome from some members of the Supercars fraternity. But others wonder whether being the first woman to solely own a team worked against her.
It seems to Bruce Newton that both Klimenko and Arocca are right: "Not only is there deep-seated misogyny in pit lane, there is no respect for the newcomer. You have to earn your stripes. Klimenko devoted her first three years in the competition to what can safely be called a failed experiment.
Supercars teams traditionally raced custom-made Holdens or Fords. Klimenko shook things up by introducing Mercedes-Benz to the mix. She did this despite opposition from Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific, which Newton says protested to head office in Germany that V8 racing was a sport for yobbos. Though Klimenko spent money hand over fist, Erebus languished at the back of the field in most races.
Eventually, she pulled the plug, switching to Holden in Barry Ryan, who has headed her Supercars team since then, says she has stopped haemorrhaging funds. When Klimenko collected an award for the Bathurst win at the Supercars presentation night late last year, she seized the opportunity to talk to the audience about something that had been bothering her.
Her complaint, politely but powerfully put, was aimed at the Supercars media team, which she argued had always focused too strongly on promoting the two or three biggest and most successful teams, leaving smaller outfits like hers struggling to make themselves known and attract sponsors.
Eugene Arocca congratulated her afterwards. Betty Klimenko at Sydney Motorsport Park. Credit: Tim Bauer.
Klimenko suspects she scares some people. He was a very intimidating man. Among his wealthy and powerful friends — people like prime minister Bob Hawke and NSW premier Neville Wran — Saunders was known for his charm and generosity. But in Klimenko's telling, some of his gifts to her were almost comically stingy, particularly compared with those bestowed on her sister.
He made the driver stop, he got out of the car and walked into the chemist and he bought me a plastic hair comb," she says. Saunders and Lowy, once the closest of business partners, grew apart.
He set about building his own successful property development company, Terrace Tower Group. With husband Daniel Klimenko in Klimenko met Daniel in a pub in She was 30 with two sons, Anthony and Ricky, from her first marriage. Daniel was a year-old fitter and turner, employed on the docks at Garden Island. They clicked right away. Saunders implacably opposed the match, partly because Daniel wasn't Jewish. When the couple eloped and got married in Las Vegas, he disowned Klimenko, who moved with her boys into Daniel's grandparents' house in the then working-class Sydney suburb of Matraville.
They lived on Daniel's modest wage and he introduced her to a world she had never known. Klimenko didn't give up on her father. She says she phoned him every day at work: "The secretary would put me through and I'd tell him about my day.
He always took the call and he always listened, but he didn't say one word to me in three years. Gradually, Klimenko was taken back into the fold. She worked for her father's company and came to believe that Saunders respected her for having stood her ground. He'd say 'Jump' and I would say, nicely, 'Yeah, wait your turn.
Previously, in the year , Betty first met her now-husband, Daniel, in a pub. She was already 30 with two sons- Anthony and Ricky, from her first marriage. At that point, her husband, Daniel, was a year-old fitter and turner who worked on the docks at Garden Island. Betty recalled ,.
The couple eloped and got married in Las Vegas for which her father disowned her. She remembered,. Some of the best times of my life were in that world. Having a height of over five foot tall, Betty lives in a house that features an exuberant blend of architectural influences as well as decorating styles.
In terms of cars, she also has two Mercedes, a Lamborghini, a Fiat, and a vehicle which she alims is the only Holden in the eastern suburbs. They are all kept in her garage in Vaucluse. Back then, she even handled the family business. Other than that, she is also the owner of the Erebus Motorsport team. So, in , the businesswoman Betty Klimenko net worth might be in billions.
The exact figure of Betty Klimenko net worth is yet to be updated. Friday, November 12, Aussie Celebs. All Style Hunter Vogue. Entertainment And Celebrities in Brisbane.
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