The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Boris Becker

  • Fun loving Boris Becker down but certainly not out!

     

    After being declared bankrupt, Boris Becker was forced to put his treasured tennis memorabilia up for sale to settle his debts.  But his perilous financial situation has failed to dent his luxurious living arrangements.

    The Daily Mail has established that the former Wimbledon champion has taken up residence at a £5million penthouse apartment overlooking the Thames.

    Spanning two floors, his three-bedroom home boasts stunning views of the London skyline and costs around £10,000 a month to rent.

    Becker, 51, moved out of the Wimbledon mansion he shared with his second wife Lilly, 42, following their separation last year.

    This week he was spotted chatting to the concierge of the new building before driving away in a £60,000 Mercedes E-class.

    His modern apartment block is in south London and has a tennis court, a gym, a sauna and a steam room.

    Before he moved in, the property was on the market for £4,900,000. The estate agent described it as a ‘superb, modern and stylish’ penthouse.

    Last night a resident said: ‘Becker moved in halfway through last year and he has one of the best apartments in the block.

    The balconies get sunshine for most of the day. It really is a fantastic place to live, but it certainly isn’t cheap.’

    It is unclear how he is able to afford the overheads.

    He was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over a debt of £3.34million owed to private bank Arbuthnot Latham and Co.

    It became clear he was being chased for millions more, with suggestions that he owed as much as £54million to creditors.

    Becker made around £100million from tennis but spent much of it on an extravagant lifestyle, buying sports cars and expensive artwork.

    Divorce from his first wife Barbara and a payoff to the Russian model who gave birth to his daughter after a fling in 2000 have cost him millions.

    Becker works as an after-dinner speaker, with a starting price of £20,000, as well as a commentator for the BBC among others.

     

     

  • Becker’s ex-wife Lilly quits £5million home

     

    Lilly Becker’s protracted move from the marital home she once shared with estranged husband Boris hit the last phase as she loaded her belongings into a removal van on Monday.

    An assortment of furniture and personal mementoes collected during her nine-year marriage to the German tennis ace were loaded into the back of the vehicle as she bid farewell to their £5 million mansion in south-west London.

    The Dutch model, 42, was on hand oversee the move, and she gave onlookers a cheery peace-sign while carrying boxes towards her car

    Personal items carried from the property included a framed print of Lilly and son Amadeus, eight, her only child with father-of-four Boris.

    Canvas prints of the model and her boy, taken during his infancy, were also among the goods ferried from the home and into a large storage unit.

    Lilly looked relaxed in a black sheer top and gym leggings while directing the move as she makes the next step following her split with the former Wimbledon champion.

    Lilly and Boris announced their split in May after nine years together, with the couple’s lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser announcing the news in a statement.

    The statement read: ‘The decision after a 13-year-long relationship and nine years of marriage wasn’t an easy one.’

    Moser added the couple’s main concern now was the well-being of their eight-year-old son, and insisted the separation was ‘amicable’.

    Boris wedded his second wife Lilly in Switzerland in 2009 and they welcomed Amadeus the following year.

    At the end of 2017, Lilly raved about her husband, and hinted that things were still going strong, despite months of marital woes.

    Lilly told Bild On Sunday: ‘Boris is a man with a big heart. What distinguishes him above all is his generosity and willingness to be helpful. He is also a loving father and husband with whom it is never boring.

    The protracted move follows reports of the domestic dispute with Boris at the house earlier this month.

    Police swooped down to the property at around 10pm after receiving a call over the alleged incident involving the cash-strapped tennis champ and Lilly, according to Bild.

  • Boris Becker in £54 Million debt

    Boris Becker in £54 Million debt

     

    Tennis great Boris Becker is in debt to the tune of 54 million pounds and is facing having his homes and personal property repossessed, according to German media.

    Magazines Stern and Bunte say the bankruptcy declaration in London three months ago was only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of what he actually owes.

    Bunte claims a court appointed insolvency administrator has found the mountain of debt built up by the 49-year-old tennis champion.

    The magazine claims the firm of Smith and Williamson has produced a report detailing the parlous state of his finances.

    It further reported that the auction house Wyles Hardy & Co. may now to be charged with estimating the value of his trophies and memorabilia. Becker is thought to have been asked not to remove these pieces from his London house or from his mother’s house in Germany.

    The revelation comes just months after it emerged that Becker, who is married to wife Lilly, 41, had been declared bankrupt over a debt of £3.34million owed to a private bank.

    Boris married first wife Barbara Feltus in December 1993, and their son Noah Gabriel, now 23, was born a month later.

    Their second child, Elias Balthasar, now 17, was born on 4 September 1999.

    On 15 January 2001, Becker was granted a divorce, with Barbara receiving a hefty $14.4 million settlement, their condominium on the exclusive Fisher island in Florida, and custody of Noah and Elias.

    Becker and his current wife, Dutch model Lilly, 41, live in Wimbledon for part of the year but their main residence is said to be in Switzerland.

  • How Six Times Grand Slam Legend Lost £100M to Nigerian Oil Deal

    How Six Times Grand Slam Legend Lost £100M to Nigerian Oil Deal

    Tennis legend Boris Becker, who earned more than $25 million and won six Grand Slam titles during a glittering career in the 80s said he lost almost his entire wealth in failed investment in Nigerian oil firms.

    Known as one of tennis greats, Becker made a huge fortune during his career that spanned 15 years.

    A huge part of his £100million fortune has however been lost after the Nigerian oil company he invested in suffered losses.

    According to German news magazine Der Spiegel, the former tennis player bought shares in the Nigerian oil and gas industry in 2013, and at one point considered a single investment of more than $10m (£7.6m).

    The former tennis star was declared bankrupt in a London court last month Credit: French Select

    It also alleges he had extensive links outside the world of tennis that ranged from African leaders to Laxmi Mittal, the Indian steel billionaire, and was seen as some one who business dealings went far deeper than celebrity endorsements and media appearances..

    The claims centre on documents Spiegel says it was shown by Football Leaks, a whistleblowing website.

    They include what purport to be internal emails from Doyen Global, a sports management agency which represented Mr Becker for a brief period starting in late 2013, which reportedly show that Becker Private Office, a company controlled by Mr Becker, held extensive shares in the Nigerian oil and gas business, Spiegel claims.

    Doyen Global did not respond to requests for comment.The magazine claims it has seen details of a single investment of “more than $10m” in Nigerian oil prepared for Mr Becker by Forbes & Manhattan, a Canadian investment bank and a former associate of the tennis player. Forbes & Manhattan did not reply to a request for comment.

    It is not clear whether Mr Becker went through with the investment, or whether it was successful.

    Mr Becker’s association with Doyen was publicly presented as an opportunity for the company to expand its operations in the world of tennis.

    But the purported internal emails leaked to Spiegel note that he had met recently with Mr Mittal and John Mahama, the Ghanaian president at the time, and describe him as “some one who can open doors for us in certain circles”.

    During bankruptcy proceedings in London last month, John Briggs, Mr Becker’s laywer, told the court: “He is not a sophisticated individual when it comes to finances.”

    Mr Becker was not available for comment.