Jean-Pierre Van Rossem was born on 29 May 1945 and died on 14 December 2018.
Van Rossem was like a turbocharged enigma – fast, flashy, and impossible to predict.
He was known for his eclectic and often contradictory political views.
He was a Belgian academic, economist, financier, novelist, philosopher, politician, and self-publicist.
He is well-known for his controversial and flamboyant personality.
In 1989, he sponsored and later became the majority owner of the Onyx Formula 1 team under his company, Moneytron.
The Onyx F1 team placed 10th in the Constructors’ Championship in 1989.
Moneytron claimed to have a supercomputer capable of predicting stock market movements.
However, Moneytron was revealed to be a Ponzi scheme rather than a legitimate investment firm.
It attracted investments from wealthy individuals, including members of the Belgian royal family.
Jean-Pierre used funds from new investors to pay off older ones and finance his extravagant lifestyle.
He owned a $4 million yacht, two aircraft, and 108 Ferraris.
In 1990, a $50 million cheque to a French businessman bounced, leading to his arrest and conviction for fraud.
As a result, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Despite his criminal activities, he was elected to the Belgian parliament, and due to parliamentary immunity, his imprisonment was delayed until 1995.
A Marxist turned anarchist, often criticised prominent figures in Formula 1 and the financial world.
Despite spending less than a year in Formula 1, Jean-Pierre was remembered vividly by those in the sport.
Jean-Pierre Van Rossem’s story exemplifies how charisma and the appearance of success can be leveraged to perpetrate large-scale fraud.
His brief but memorable involvement in Formula 1 adds an intriguing chapter to the sport’s history, highlighting the bizarre intersections between high finance and high-speed racing.
‘He was the only anarchist who owned a yacht, two planes, and a stable of Ferraris’
