For ten years now, Michael Schumacher has been fighting against the after-effects left on him by the terrible skiing accident that occurred in Méribel (Savoie). Suffering from serious head trauma, the German athlete, then aged 44, saw his vital prognosis compromised, and falls into a coma. Immediate neurosurgical intervention is performed, but the German athlete cannot wake up. After more than six months spent in a coma, Michael Schumacher will wake up on June 6, 2014 at Grenoble hospital. For nine years, the condition in which Michael Schumacher finds himself has been kept secret by his family, and the few privileged people who are authorized to visit him. Among them, businessman Jean Todt and his wife Michelle Yeoh.
For several weeks, international media have been relaying numerous rumors suggesting that the Schumacher family is facing serious financial difficulties and would no longer be able to afford the substantial medical care and daily workers who must receive Michael Schumacher. Claims that Jean Todt firmly denied to The Team : “Those who say they know know nothing. He is no longer the Michael from before. He is different and is beautifully supported by his wife and children who protect him. His life is different and I have the privilege of being able to share moments with him. That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago and he is no longer the Michael we knew in F1.” said the former CEO of Peugeot, Ferrari, and former president of the International Automobile Federation.
A fortune worth more than 600 million euros
On BFMTV, journalist Jean-Luc Roy also wanted to deny these rumors, which he considers unfounded: “I don’t know what medical assistance he needs, but it’s not necessarily very heavy assistance. There are a whole bunch of fantasies (…) like what the family would be ruined, and would no longer have the means to support it. I think it’s absolutely nonsense“. In 2020, an Italian tabloid assured that the home medical care enjoyed by Michael Schumacher would cost the Schumacher clan the astronomical sum of 10 million euros annually. Allegations that the family has never commented on, neither contested nor confirmed. In February 2023, the Spanish media Cuatro claimed that Michael Schumacher’s assets were estimated at more than 600 million euros. A colossal fortune, made possible by the masterful automotive career that the athlete had until 2013, and all the advertising and sponsorship contracts that he signed.