Plenty of celebrities and rich people drive nice, expensive cars, but a rare few own truly magnificent car collections valued in the tens of millions or more.
For most enthusiasts, an attainable car collection remains in the single digits, perhaps consisting of a daily driver, an SUV, and a weekend car, if you’re lucky. Travel to the nicer part of town and someone’s car collection might be a little more ambitious. Perhaps now there are two daily drivers, and a track car to supplement the weekend car. Anything beyond that is the stuff of dreams. Double, or even triple digit car collections usually only exist behind the red ropes of a museum exhibit, while you fiddle with a paper wristband and read facts you already knew from a plaque.
But for a very lucky few, these museum-like collections constitute personal fleets. Staffed garages, battery cords, rooms full of keys, and supercars packed with a tightness to rival canned sardines are a reality for a select few car collectors. This club comes from all sorts of different backgrounds, from chefs, CEOs, bankers, boxers, and comedians, but all share a passion for cars. Here are 15 of the biggest private car collections in the world.Rowan Atkinson’s car collection
Rowan Atkinson is most recognized for his role as the ever-bumbling and hilarious Mr. Bean, but off the silver screen, Atkinson is a very serious and deliberate car collector. His collection is estimated to be valued around $15 million, has a unique spread of cars, and many that come from British automakers. He also owns cars like a 1989 Lancia Delta HF Intergrale, and a 1993 Mercedes 500e, cars that seem restrained when compared to others that live in his garage.
One such car is his Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead, a roofless two door coupe inspired by racing yachts, and fitted with an experimental V16 engine. The star of his collection though, is his McLaren F1. Although he sold it in 2015, he famously bought it in 1997 after the success of the first Mr. Bean movie. He also famously crashed it twice, and received Britain’s largest ever insurance payout to repair it, about £910,000 (around $1.2 million).Gerard Lopez’s car collection
Becoming rich enough to own a triple-digit car collection isn’t an easy task. Most paths to that kind of money involve copious amounts of white collar pomp and words like mergers and acquisitions. In the case of Gerard Lopez however, it involved words like Renault, and names like Kimi Räikkönen. The co-founder of international investment management firm Genii Capital, Lopez commandeered the purchase of the Renault F1 team in 2009.
Unlike many of the suits behind F1 teams though, Lopez is a car enthusiast through and through. In 2012, Lopez had about 85 cars in his collection, and one can only guess he has acquired a few more since then. Lancias, BMWs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis (including the Urus’s predecessor, the LM002), Lopez has them all and the best part is his refusal to allow any to become garage queens. In an interview with Top Gear, he expressed how he actually enjoys the cars he buys, rather than just considering them for their monetary value. As if any further evidence was needed for Lopez’s authenticity, at the time of the interview his holy grail car was a 1983 Golf GTI, although it’s hard not to wonder if that’s only because he already owns every other dream car.Gordon Ramsay’s car collection
If you picture a person with a multimillion dollar car collection, you might think of a hedge fund manager, a racing team owner, a monarch, a popstar, or a dictator. A chef is not typically what comes to mind, but Gordon Ramsay’s private collection would say otherwise. Ramsay’s abilities in the kitchen led him to head chef positions, which tumbled into restaurant ownership, and spiraled into becoming a globally recognized culinary TV personality.
This incredible success no doubt came with incredible paychecks, as Ramsay is now the proud owner of a 94-car portfolio estimated to be worth around $16 million. Ramsay’s collection is heavily focused on supercars and hypercars ranging from entry level cars like a 2001 Aston Martin DB7, to hyper-exclusive status symbols like the windshield-lacking Ferrari SP2 from the brand’s Icona series. Ramsay sometimes includes his cars in his cooking too with cheeky stunts like heating a grilled cheese on the hot V12 of his Aston Martin Valkyrie.Floyd Mayweather’s car collection
Not many are willing to participate in a sport where you’re expect to bleed. For those that make it to the upper echelons of boxing, fame and money become substantial compensation for the blood and sweat left in the ring. Floyd «Money» Mayweather is part of the exclusive club of boxers with a perfect record of 50 wins and no losses. This incredible feat has brought Mayweather and his team, which he calls «The Money Team», lots and lots of cash.
Leaving the sport with zero losses is valid cause for gloating, and Mayweather’s 100-car collection manages that task perfectly, with most of his models being the cream of the crop of performance and luxury. Some highlights include the Aston Martin One-77, a limited edition halo car with a 7.3 liter V12 and a 220 mph top speed. The king of his collection though, is the Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. Mayweather owns half of the world’s supply of CCXR Trevitas, given only two were made, making this 1,018 hp silver carbon adorned Swedish superstar the top dog of his $40 million fleet.Jay Leno’s garage
Where some collectors wish to keep their treasure chests behind lock and key, Jay Leno decides to share his with the world. The comedian and former late-night TV host traded his suit and desk for a steering wheel and jeans with his 3.9 million subscriber YouTube channel, Jay Leno’s garage where he shares the always interesting, and often expensive pieces of his automotive collection.
Although a collection this big is subject to constant change, you can expect his key count to be somewhere around 180, estimated to be worth around $52 million in total. Although we may not be able to drive them, almost all of his cars are featured on the YouTube channel. A true enthusiast himself, Leno covers cars of all different backgrounds. In one video he may be discussing a pre-war American firetruck powered by a V12, and in the next, he may be inaudible behind the wheel of the super light, open-cockpit BAC Mono. The variety is what makes this collection, and thanks to its accessibility online, thousands of other enthusiasts get to enjoy the collection along with Leno.Ralph Lauren’s car collection
For gearheads, a horse in a logo conjures brands like Ferrari and Porsche, but for fashionistas, it a different one entirely: Polo Ralph Lauren. Whether you’ve seen it on a teenager’s monogram sweatpants, or on the chest of an accountant’s sweater, the Ralph Lauren horse is everywhere, and the man behind it all loves cars just as much as he loves clothes.
Although a Ralph Lauren suit may be tastefully understated, his car collection is what one might call tastefully loud. With a head count of over 70 cars and its value estimated to be somewhere around $700 million, Lauren’s collection exists in a fictional dreamland for many car enthusiasts. Everything from his Mercedes-Benz SSK to his McLaren F1 LM is kept to museum-level beauty standards, and each car is well-maintained and accessible for Lauren to drive each and every one as he pleases. Highlights come from all pages of the history books like the modern, fighter jet-inspired Lamborghini Reventon, or the McQueen level cool Jaguar XKD.Nick Mason’s car collection
If you want a glimpse of what the rockstar life is all about, Nick Mason, the legendary drummer of Pink Floyd, wouldn’t be a bad person to ask. The rest of us will have to just imagine the fame, illegal substances, leather jackets, and of course, nice cars. Mason has proven that last bit to be fact, with his fleet of cars that matches or even rivals his fame.
Mason’s collection skips all the fluff, and goes straight to the platinum hits of the car world. Names like Bugatti, Aston Martin, and Maserati frequent his collection, but judging by how often Ferrari comes up in his estimated 40 car collection, it’s safe to assume he has a favorite. It’s also safe to assume this, because he owns the end-all-be-all Ferrari. The car in question is not the F40, or the LaFerrari, even though he owns both, but the 1962 250 GTO, of which 36 were ever built. Today, this car alone is estimated to be worth around $50 million.Jerry Seinfeld’s Porsche fleet
Whether you’ve seen it or not, most people know «Seinfeld.» When you’re the star of one of the most successful and influential sitcoms of all time, people can expect you’ve got some money in your pocket. What they might not expect however, is what you spend it on, which in Jerry Seinfeld’s case, is Porsches. For anyone who thought the German brand only makes 911s, Seinfeld’s approximately 150 car collection helps to prove the contrary.
Although his collection does include a rainbow of 911 variations, the real meat of it goes beyond Porsche’s bread and butter sports car. Seinfeld owns an untouched 1949 356, the first model Porsche ever made, and the car that pioneered what would become the defining characteristics of the 911 family. His model, chassis 008 comes in the famous sky blue and orange Gulf livery. Seinfeld also owns the Porsche 959, a car that seemed to time travel from the future for its 1986 premiere thanks to all the new tech it featured. Ken Lingenfelter’s car collection
The car bug can come from anywhere, but for Ken Lingenfelter it was hereditary. The son of an executive at General Motors, Lingenfelter was around cars all his life. His exposure became the basis of his interest, until one day in 1977, when Lingenfelter bought a Chevrolet Corvette. After this initial purchase, Lingenfelter invested himself in the business of speed when he bought Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, a brand founded by a relative that specialized in automotive tuning and performance upgrades.
Now, Lingenfelter owns 250 cars. Much of his collection is made up of the cars that kickstarted his passion — Corvettes and other GM offerings — but his taste certainly includes more variety, with European exotics as well. Two of these exotics come in the form of a Ferrari F40 and a 288 GTO, the latter of which Lingenfelter apparently prefers, for its more usable character as opposed to the F40’s purebred racing nature. Despite having the keys to nearly any car he wants, Lingenfelter has stayed true to his first love, as he says he daily drives a C8 Corvette ZR1.Roger Dudding’s car collection
One may not imagine the self storage business to lend itself to a particularly glamorous life, but English businessman Roger Dudding proves otherwise. In the 1970s, the man known as Mr. Lockup bought up a huge chunk of the United Kingdom’s self storage units — thousands of them — and has since amassed tremendous wealth from the rent he’s collected on them. With that wealth, he began a private car collection that is now home to 420 cars and counting.
Dudding developed an interest in cars from a young age, after falling for his father’s 1952 Morris Minor, an origin story which has heavily influenced his portfolio of cars. His collection consists of mostly classics with Dudding showing a particular affinity to Aston Martins as any proud Brit would. Dudding didn’t settle for any old Aston though, as he is the owner of 24 Aston Martin Lagondas — a four-door performance sedan that is now looked back on as a black sheep of the Aston Martin lineup, but a desirable car nonetheless.The Redbull heir’s Formula One collection
If there’s anyone you can expect to have a collection of Formula One cars, former Formula One President Bernie Ecclestone wouldn’t be a bad guess. However, this year, Ecclestone sold his entire collection to another person who knows a thing or two about Formula One. Enter Mark Mateschitz, son of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and heir to the Redbull empire. Along with Mercedes, the Red Bull Formula One team has dominated in the modern day, so you can expect Mateschitz is particularly fond of this sport and its history.
Valued somewhere around $650 million, Mateschitz’s new collection of open-wheel racers most heavily features cars from Ferrari. These cars are not only mechanical marvels for engineers to drool at, they also carry the stories of the famous racers who piloted them. One such car is Michael Schumacher’s F2002, which he drove into the history books in the 2002 F1 season by winning 11 Grand Prix’s and his fifth Driver’s Championship title. Another example would be the weird and wonderful Brabham BT46B, famous for its downforce-generating fan apparatus, which helped it produce its one and only win at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix with Nikki Lauda at the helm.Khalid Abdul Rahim’s car collection
In the Persian Gulf, the island nation of Bahrain sits off the coast of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Widely known in the car world for being the home of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain is also home to Khalid Abdul Rahim and his $116 million car collection. Rahim made his fortune as the head of the KAR Group, a business with a portfolio that includes some of the largest construction firms, properties, and engineering companies in and around Bahrain.
Rahim’s collection is star studded, with some of the most exclusive and expensive cars in the world. Cars that would be the highlight of other collections sit at lower rungs in Rahim’s, like his Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1. Moving up the food chain, Rahim owns the legendary Porsche GT1, a somehow street legal race car for the road cooked up by the German brand in 1997. He also owns one of the 20 Lamborghini Reventon coupes in the world, which truly lives up to the fighter jet comparison Lamborghinis often get (the project was inspired by the F-22 Raptor).Mukesh Ambani’s car collection
What happens when you put together a portfolio of construction and development companies, media producers, and financial firms? You get $125 billion in revenue and a conglomerate called Reliance Industries. And when you are the chairman of said conglomerate, you get to start a 168-car $30 million dollar automotive collection. There’s no beating around the bush, Mukesh Ambani is India’s richest man, and he is also the owner of one of the most extravagant car collections in the world.
Although Ambani has more performance cars than most could dream of, like his Ferrari 488 GTB or Lamborghini Aventador S, his main interest is centered on luxury cars. These aren’t your typical luxury cars either, as it seems your standard S Class or Phantom just won’t do. Ambani has the true gems, like the ultra rare Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe, or the Mercedes Maybach 62, one of the two original comeback models of the Maybach brand after its 2002 revival. He also owns multiple bulletproof luxury sedans like his armoured BMW 760 Li, or his Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard.The Rainbow Sheikh’s car pyramid
When you are literal royalty, it must feel almost mandatory to have a car collection. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, commonly called the Rainbow Sheikh for his order of seven Mercedes S Classes in seven different colors, is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, and the owner of not only one of the world’s most insane car collections, but possibly the most absurd way of displaying them. Simply put, the Rainbow Sheikh keeps his cars in a pyramid.
The Rainbow Sheikh is not your usual hypercar collector. He seems to have a thing for big cars, but we don’t mean a G Wagen. We’re talking about something like a Hummer H1 that’s two stories tall, or the Dhabiyan, a 35-foot-tall 10-wheeled Frankensteinian SUV-semi-truck creation. And these aren’t even the biggest creations in the pyramid. That superlative goes to his Dodge Power Wagon, which is 50 feet tall and weighs 50 tons, and whose interior sports not a steering wheel but a bedroom. In a collection culture of Bugattis and Koenigseggs, one has to respect the Rainbow Sheikh’s radically different taste preferences.Sultan of Brunei’s car collection
Although all of these collections are the stuff of dreams for most car enthusiasts, there is one clear king. On October 5, 1967 at just 21 years old, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ascended the throne and became Sultan of the island nation of Brunei. All previously mentioned collections pale in comparison to the Sultan’s 7,000 strong collection, estimated to be worth around $5 billion.
Excess doesn’t even begin to describe this treasure chest. There are some familiar names, like the Ferrari F40 or the McLaren F1, but they are just a piece of the puzzle here — the Sultan owns eight of each. There’s the ultra rare Ferrari F90, a unique model commissioned by the Sultan of which only six were made. There’s a Bentley Dominator, the spiritual predecessor to the Bentayga, as well as Jaguar XJ220s, Bugatti EB110s, and so many more. You could write whole books about this collection given the 7,000 car count, but the effort would be almost futile. In short, this is the end-all-be-all of private car collections.
