Until yesterday, its identity was still one of the great mysteries of Monterey Car Week. Who on earth could have spent $40 million on Chassis 0 of the Ferrari Luce, whereas the first Ferrari Was the car's value estimated at around $1.1 million before the sale? We now have a name: Herbert «Herbie» Wertheim. And his background is far more remarkable than that of a mere Ferrari collector.
At 87 years old, this American—whose fortune is estimated at approximately $4.6 billion—is an optometrist, inventor, entrepreneur, investor, and, above all, a philanthropist. In the automotive world, his name remains relatively unknown. Yet he has already been behind two of the most spectacular modern Ferrari sales in history.
The same man had paid 26 million for a Daytona SP3
The rumor began to circulate after the sale: «It's the same man.» And for good reason. A year earlier, in exactly the same spot, Herbert Wertheim had bought the Ferrari Daytona SP3 Tailor Made «599+1» for $26 million.
That one-of-a-kind car had set a record at the time for a contemporary automobile sold at auction. Wertheim has now shattered that record himself by paying 40 million for the Luce.
One might easily conclude that he owns a massive collection of supercars. However, that’s not how Wertheim made a name for himself. Information about his garage is actually surprisingly scarce. He has indeed been spotted behind the wheel of a Ferrari Purosangue At the 2026 Cavalcade and at his Florida estate—which he purchased in late 2025 for $61.75 million—he would have an air-conditioned garage large enough to hold more than thirteen cars. But his true passion lies elsewhere.
His fortune comes from eyeglasses… and the stock market
Born in Philadelphia in 1939 into a modest family, Herbert Wertheim served in the U.S. Navy before turning his attention to the field of vision science. In the late 1960s, his research on the effects of ultraviolet light on the eyes led him to develop UV-absorbing dyes for plastic eyeglass lenses.
He then founded Brain Power, Inc., a company specializing in products for the optical industry. At the same time, Wertheim invested in the stock market for several decades, notably investing very early on in technology companies that would later experience considerable growth. This strategy enabled him to build a fortune worth several billion dollars, a significant portion of which is now dedicated to philanthropy. In fact, American universities and medical institutions bear his name following donations amounting to tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
The $40 million then takes on a whole new meaning
This is precisely what allows us to view the purchase of the Ferrari Luce in a different light. As with last year’s Daytona SP3, the entire proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Ferrari Foundation to fund educational initiatives.
In other words, Wertheim didn’t simply pay $40 million for an electric Ferrari worth only a fraction of that amount. For a man accustomed to making spectacular donations, this auction also appears to be yet another philanthropic endeavor—with, this time, an extremely unique Ferrari as the prize.
Two consecutive years, $66 million spent at Ferrari, two one-of-a-kind models, and two charity auctions: Herbert Wertheim may not have been known as a car collector, but in Maranello, it’s now hard to imagine a more indispensable customer.
English 
French 
Italian 
Spanish 
German 
Japanese 
Dutch