Billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's F1 circus touched down in India this weekend. The Indians reportedly spent upwards of 300 million dollars in preparation for the event.
Wasn't long ago that India was considered a "third-world" country. In fact, they still get foreign aid from the so-called developed world, including the US and Britain. The IMF rates India as the 129th richest country in the world by GDP per capita. The CIA World Factbook puts them at 162. Either way, they're a lot closer to the bottom than they are to the top.
Half of all children in India are malnourished. But they can spare 300 million for Billionaire Bernie and his stable of multi-millionaire race drivers?
Twenty-three year old German Sebastian Vettel took the inaugural event. Enjoyed his time in India. Took a side-trip to the Taj Mahal. Found the people poor but happy.
As for Vettel, now that he's nailed down the championship for the second year in a row, endorsement money should put his annual income into the $50,000,000.00 per year range.
That'll make him rich and happy.
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