Mail on Sunday takes on James Stunt

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3337885/Flash-cars-gold-bars-superstar-entourage-does-Petra-Ecclestone-s-3billion-husband-James-Stunt-actually-billionaire-father-law-Bernie-baffled-money.html

Even by the time he began dating Petra after meeting her on a blind date in London in 2006, Stunt was whizzing around town in flashy Lamborghini. Online estimates – by no means reliable, of course – give his wealth as anything up to a staggering £3.6 billion. But even the wily 85-year-old Mr Ecclestone seems at a loss to know exactly how he came about his fortune.
The Ecclestone family source added: 'Bernie went to James's office. He said that on the wall there was this painting worth £2 million, another worth £1 million, another worth half a million.
Financial experts say that, while there's absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing, some of Stunt's complex dealings would appear to be less than orthodox
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Financial experts say that, while there's absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing, some of Stunt's complex dealings would appear to be less than orthodox
'He thought to himself, "What has James ever done to acquire that sort of money?" Bernie doesn't know anyone who's sold James anything. His attitude is that if they are genuine and they're worth that sort of money, good for James. If he's made the money, fantastic.'
His apparent wealth, lavish donations and fabulous art collections are all the more baffling given his inauspicious start in business. An investigation by The Mail on Sunday reveals he suffered a string of unsuccessful companies before 2011. And financial experts say that, while there's absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing, some of his complex dealings would appear to be less than orthodox.
To date, his most notable corporate disappointment has been his involvement in Britain's oldest bookmakers Heathorns, which went out of business in 2009.
Two years previously, Stunt went into business with American betting entrepreneur Thomas Taule in Heathorns, which was established in 1890. But within months of Stunt becoming a director, the company was in trouble.
In August 2007, the firm's parent company, Interactive Gaming Holdings, run by Taule, had its shares suspended and stopped taking bets after punters demanded their money back. IGH went bust, owing thousands of pounds.
Then, in the summer of 2010, Stunt joined forces with another businessman, Simon Gold, to become directors of a firm called Select Global Management. However, the following year, they applied to Companies House to have the firm voluntarily struck off.
Stunt and Gold were also jointly briefly involved in another business, London Area Properties, in 2007, before Stunt resigned from the company the following year.
In September 2009, Companies House gave notice of its intention to compulsorily dissolve the firm and it was formally struck off three months later.
The same fate befell another firm the two men became directors of in January 2008, SGA Management. Stunt resigned from the company ten months later, while Gold remained until Companies House again announced its intention to strike it off. It was finally closed down in May 2010. In both cases, it is not known why Companies House made the move to force the firm to shut down.
Last year came a renewed burst of activity, with the creation of four new companies, including Stunt Acquisitions and Stunt & Co. None has yet filed accounts.