{{short description|Australian businessperson and motorsport team owner (born 1959)}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Betty Klimenko | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|AM}} | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1959}} | birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | occupation = {{Plainlist| * Businessperson * Motorsport team owner}} | known_for = First female team owner to win the Bathurst 1000 | spouse = Daniel Klimenko | children = 3 }} '''Betty Ann Saunders-Klimenko''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 1959) is an Australian businessperson and motorsport team owner who runs the Erebus Motorsport squad in the Supercars Championship. In 2017, she became the first female team owner to win the Bathurst 1000. Klimenko is a promoter of women in motorsport and is a global ambassador for the Australian arm of the Dare to be Different initiative.
==Early life== Klimenko was the illegitimate child born to a police officer who served in the Vietnam War and the prostitute and former Miss West Australia Anne Neil in Sydney in 1959.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Newton|first=Bruce|date=March 2013|title=Black Betty|url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=85711508&site=ehost-live|journal=Wheels|pages=108–111|issn=0043-4779|url-access=subscription|access-date=22 December 2020|via=EBSCO|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134714/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3D51d09165be0aa6d2d24fc45c0b6e6370|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DTAust2013" /> She has three biological siblings.<ref name="DTAust2013" /> She was conceived drug-addicted in Kings Cross Police Station's Cell {{Abbr|No.|Number}} 3,<ref name="DTAust2013">{{cite news|last=Phelps|first=James|title=Westfield heiress Betty Saunders-Klimenko's journey from orphanage to a life of luxury|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/westfield-heiress-betty-saunders-klimenkos-journey-from-orphanage-to-a-life-of-luxury/news-story/651a760f74c99f546d99cdb353a1a648|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 June 2013|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718113630/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/westfield-heiress-betty-saunders-klimenkos-journey-from-orphanage-to-a-life-of-luxury/news-story/651a760f74c99f546d99cdb353a1a648|archive-date=18 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was abandoned at the adoption nursery of the former Crown Street Women's Hospital by her biological parents at seven weeks old.<ref name=NZHerald2014>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Eric|title=Queen of the V8s|url=https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/herald-on-sunday/20141005/282488591963161|work=New Zealand Herald|date=5 October 2014|access-date=20 December 2020|via=PressReader|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134711/https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/herald-on-sunday/20141005/282488591963161|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TheAge2018">{{cite news|last=Cadzow|first=Jane|title=Betty Klimenko: the unlikely heiress revving up motor sport|url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/betty-klimenko-the-unlikely-heiress-revving-up-motor-sport-20180320-p4z57p.html|work=The Age|date=26 March 2018|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134714/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/betty-klimenko-the-unlikely-heiress-revving-up-motor-sport-20180320-p4z57p.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She has little knowledge of her biological mother,<ref name="DTAust2013" /> who died when Klimenko was aged five,<ref name="SupercarsOpenUp">{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Connor|date=31 March 2020|title=Klimenko opens up on untold pain|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-opens-up-on-untold-pain/|access-date=20 December 2020|publisher=Supercars|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134815/https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-opens-up-on-untold-pain/|url-status=live}}</ref> and never met her parents.<ref name="DTAust2013" /> Klimenko was adopted by the Hungarian-Jewish,<ref name="NZHerald2014" /> Westfield Group co-founder and Nazi concentration camp survivor John Saunders and his wife Eta.<ref name="DTAust2013" /><ref name="TheAge2018" /> Klimenko was born a Catholic and was raised as Jewish (although never converted).<ref name="TheAge2018" /> She has a younger adopted brother,<ref name="TheAge2018" /> and was raised by nannies, due to Saunders' work commitments.<ref name="DTAust2013" /> Klimenko attended a Church of England school.<ref name="NBCPodcast" />
==Career== At age 13,<ref name="DTAust2013" /> Klimenko began working for Saunders as a cleaner in the toilets and kitchens of his shopping centres every Saturday for half a decade.<ref name="NBCPodcast">{{cite podcast|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-betty-klimenko/9908578|title=Betty, Queen of Donks – Conservations|publisher=Conversations|host=Richard Fidler|date=2 July 2018|access-date=20 December 2020|url-status=live|time=00:09.13–00:15.00|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134718/https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-betty-klimenko/9908578}}</ref> She also worked as a Santa's little helper in shopping centres before becoming the first female employee in the men's jeans department at Grace Bros.<ref name="DTAust2013" /> Saunders cut Klimenko off from his life following her second marriage to a non-Jewish man in Las Vegas and she had to assume a working-class life in the suburb of Matraville, Sydney living on her husband's income. Saunders and she reconciled after Klimenko gave birth to her son and subsequently received a share of her adoptive fathers' fortune, following his death in 1997.<ref name="DTAust2013" /><ref name="TheAge2018" /> She is joint deputy chairperson of the family-owned property development company Terrace Tower Group with her sister.<ref name="TheAge2018" />
In 1999, Klimenko developed an interest for motor racing when her husband took her to a Porsche driving experience as a spectator.<ref name="SN2013">{{cite news|title=Go Girl!|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1321593237|work=Sunday News|page=30|date=31 March 2013|access-date=20 December 2020|id={{ProQuest|1321593237 }}|url-access=subscription|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134722/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3D049b72933df1984608bd7eaecfafaf95 |url-status=live}}</ref> Working with her husband,<ref name="TB2015">{{cite news|last=O'Neil|first=Rohan|title=Betty's 'boys' make owner race ready|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1695061314|work=Townsville Bulletin|page=48|date=10 July 2015|access-date=20 December 2020|url-access=subscription|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134730/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3Dac275a887eafde73acb97a5c9de3cc46|id={{ProQuest|1695061314}} |url-status=live}}</ref> she participated in amateur and semi-professional forms of motor racing,<ref name="TheAge2018" /> primarily Formula 3 and GT racing as a sponsor for 14 years.<ref name=BWDec2013>{{Cite news|date=12 December 2013|title=A revhead for business|work=Business View magazine|url=https://business.nab.com.au/a-revhead-for-business-5199/|url-status=live|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134720/https://business.nab.com.au/a-revhead-for-business-5199/}}</ref> She also fielded a squad of SLS Mercedes GT cars in the GT3 category.<ref name="NZHerald2014" /><ref name=AAApril2013>{{Cite journal|last=Fogarty|first=Mark|date=17 April 2013|title=Betty's Black Knight|url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=95803990&site=ehost-live|journal=Auto Action|issue=1587|pages=18–21|url-access=subscription|access-date=22 December 2020|via=EBSCO|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134725/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3D721326bec4bf0110f75804b26e2a43fd|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2012, Klimenko purchased the Stone Brothers Racing team and V8 Supercars Championship racing license from co-owners Ross Stone and Jimmy Stone starting from the 2013 season.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kogoy|first=Peter|date=20 September 2012|title=Property tsar puts Mercedes on V8s grid|page=34|work=The Australian|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1041040942|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=22 December 2020|id={{ProQuest|104104942 }}|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134720/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3Dc8a2d51693f393eaa96f23eaf6bb366e }}</ref><ref name=SBRJan13>{{Cite web|last=Cushnan|first=David|date=8 January 2013|title=Stone Brothers Racing renamed as Klimenko buys V8 squad|url=https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/stone_brothers_racing_renamed_as_klimenko_buys_v8_squad|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134720/https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/stone_brothers_racing_renamed_as_klimenko_buys_v8_squad|archive-date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|website=SportsPro}}</ref> She renamed the team Erebus Motorsport after the Greek god of darkness,<ref name=AAApril2013/><ref name="DSCInterview">{{cite web|last=Goodwin|first=Graham|title=Catching up with Betty Klimenko, "Spa is Like A Big Bathurst"|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2014/08/13/catching-up-with-betty-klimenko-spa-is-like-a-big-bathurst.html|publisher=DailySportsCar|date=13 August 2014|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134721/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2014/08/13/catching-up-with-betty-klimenko-spa-is-like-a-big-bathurst.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and would lease the licence for two years until 1 January 2015.<ref name=SBRJan13/> This made Klimenko the first female to own a V8 Supercars squad. She and the former head of Mercedes-Benz's motorsport activities Norbert Haug agreed to an engine supply deal for Erebus Motorsport and was a Mercedes team,<ref name=BWDec2013 /> despite Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific telling its head office in Germany that V8 Supercars "was a sport for yobbos."<ref name="TheAge2018" />
To allow for the continuation of Erebus Motorsport, Klimenko financed the team from a family trust to service a loan after using up her personal income.<ref name="NZHerald2014" /> The relationship between her and Mercedes-AMG and HWA strained because the German marque did not understand the V8 Supercars Championship and team principal Ross Stone and team manager David Stuart left Erebus Motorsport.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bartholomaeus|first=Stefan|date=3 July 2015|title=Q&A: Betty Klimenko on the evolution of Erebus|url=https://speedcafe.com/qa-betty-klimenko-on-erebus-evolution/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706000414/https://www.speedcafe.com/2015/07/03/qa-betty-klimenko-on-erebus-evolution/|archive-date=6 July 2015|access-date=22 December 2020|publisher=Speedcafe}}</ref> Klimenko switched manufacturers Mercedes to Holden in 2016 and moved Erebus Motorsport's headquarters from Queensland to Victoria.<ref name="PenriteBio">{{cite web|title=Betty Klimenko, Owner of Erebus Motorsport|url=https://penriteracing.com/about/team-owner/|publisher=Penrite Racing|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134722/https://penriteracing.com/about/team-owner/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was the first woman team owner to win the Bathurst 1000 when Erebus Motorsport drivers David Reynolds and Luke Youlden finished first in the 2017 edition.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Levi|first=Joshua|date=11 October 2017|title=First Jew to win Bathurst 1000|work=The Australian Jewish News|url=https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/first-jew-win-bathurst-1000/|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fife-Yemoans|first=Janet|date=10 October 2017|title=A Fairytale's Driving Force|page=14|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1948537930|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134722/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AUserLogin&uselang=en&returnto=Special%3AOAuth%2Fauthenticate&returntoquery=%26oauth_consumer_key%3Dc656df92ac58925bbcb164666bde5baf%26oauth_token%3D6b76941a87305e3310188c582ad9821f|id={{ProQuest|1948537930}} }}</ref> In the 2018 championship, Klimenko's team finished fourth in the Teams' Championship.<ref name="PenriteBio" /> She sold 50 per cent of her share of the No. 99 Racing Entitlement Contract used by Erebus Motorsport, to the team's CEO Barry Ryan in June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Adam|first=Mitchell|date=27 June 2019|title=Klimenko sells stake in Erebus entry|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-sells-stake-in-erebus-entry/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134720/https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-sells-stake-in-erebus-entry/|archive-date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|publisher=Supercars}}</ref>
Klimenko promotes women in motorsport.<ref name=Autosport2019Profile>{{Cite journal|last=van Leeuwen|first=Andrew|date=22 August 2019|title=Betty Klimenko|url=https://porschecarshistory.com/wp-content/old/lib/magazines/autosport/2019/08/AS2019.08.22.pdf|journal=Autosport|pages=35|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134729/https://porschecarshistory.com/wp-content/old/lib/magazines/autosport/2019/08/AS2019.08.22.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> She led the nationwide Women in Auto Trades campaign opposite Auto Skills Australia and the Australian Government in 2014 visiting schools and aiming to get young girls into the motor trades industry.<ref name="MoreGirlMchs">{{cite news|last=Pike|first=Ben|title=Westfield heiress Betty Klimenko: more girl mechanics|url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/westfield-heiress-betty-klimenko-more-girl-mechanics/news-story/1829b6d7adc839136c0444563c3b9676|publisher=News.com.au|date=14 March 2014|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134736/https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/westfield-heiress-betty-klimenko-more-girl-mechanics/news-story/1829b6d7adc839136c0444563c3b9676|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2018, Klimenko joined the Australian arm of the Dare to be Different initiative as a global ambassador aiming to increase involvement of women at all levels of motor racing.<ref name="MCOM2018DTBD">{{cite web|last=van Leeuwen|first=Andrew|title=Supercars team owner joins Dare to be Different|url=https://www.motorsport.com/v8supercars/news/supercars-team-owner-joins-dare-to-be-different-1019671/1398733/|publisher=Motorsport.com|date=28 March 2018|access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="SupercarsDTBD">{{cite web|last=Adam|first=Mitchell|title=Klimenko becomes Dare To Be Different ambassador|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-becomes-dare-to-be-different-ambassador/|publisher=Supercars|date=28 March 2018|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=22 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134735/https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/klimenko-becomes-dare-to-be-different-ambassador/|url-status=live}}</ref> She is an ambassador for the Blue Datto Foundation,<ref name="BDEntry">{{cite web|title=Ambassadors|url=https://www.bluedatto.org.au/pages/category/ambassadors|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134752/https://www.bluedatto.org.au/pages/category/ambassadors|archive-date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|publisher=Blue Datto}}</ref> and of the bereavement charity for children Feel the Magic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Ambassadors: Betty Kilmenko|url=https://www.feelthemagic.org.au/beta/our-ambassadors/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222134744/https://www.feelthemagic.org.au/beta/our-ambassadors/|archive-date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|publisher=Feel the Magic}}</ref> Klimenko featured on a November 2013 episode of ''60 Minutes'' detailing her life and motor racing career.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 November 2013|title=Erebus matriarch Betty Klimenko on 60 Minutes|url=https://speedcafe.com/erebus-matriarch-betty-klimenko-60-minutes/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118055654/https://www.speedcafe.com/2013/11/16/erebus-matriarch-betty-klimenko-60-minutes/|archive-date=18 November 2013|access-date=23 December 2020|publisher=Speedcafe}}</ref>
==Personal life==
She is married to Daniel Klimenko with whom she has one child. Klimenko has two children from a previous marriage that lasted five years from 1981 to 1986.<ref name="DTAust2013" /><ref name="TheAge2018" /> She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours "for significant service to motorsport, and to charitable organisations".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mrs Betty Klimenko |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2011533 |access-date=13 June 2022 |website=It's an Honour}}</ref>
=== Net worth === {{as of|2025|05}} the ''Australian Financial Review'' estimated Klimenko's net worth as {{AUD}}3.10 billion as published in the ''2025 Rich List'', held jointly with her half-sister, Monica Saunders-Weinberg, and their family.<ref name="afr2023"/> Klimenko and Saunders-Weinberg first appeared in the ''2019 Rich List''.<ref name="afr2019"/>
{{columns-start}} {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan=2 | Year ! colspan=2 | ''Financial Review''<br/>Rich List ! colspan=2 | ''Forbes''<br />{{nowrap|Australia's 50 richest}} |- ! Rank ! Net worth<br />{{AUD}} ! Rank ! Net worth<br />{{USD}} |- | 2019<ref name="afr2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-wealthiest-people-revealed-20190529-p51sj0|title=Australia's 200 richest people revealed|work=The Australian Financial Review|date=30 May 2019|last=Bailey|first=Michael|access-date=31 May 2019}}</ref> | align="center" |32 {{up}} | align="right" |$2.37 billion {{up}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2020<ref name="afr2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/the-10-richest-australians-revealed-20201028-p569c7|url-access=subscription|title=The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed|work=The Australian Financial Review|date=30 October 2020|author1=Bailey, Michael|author2=Sprague, Julie-anne|access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> | align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|29}} {{up}}}} | align="right" | $2.73 billion {{up}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2021<ref name="afr2021">{{cite news |author1=Bailey, Michael |author2=Sprague, Julie-anne |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-richest-people-revealed-20210526-p57vfr |title=The 200 richest people in Australia revealed |work=Australian Financial Review |date=27 May 2021 |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref> | align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|37}} {{down}}}} | align="right" | $2.66 billion {{down}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2022 | align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|40}} {{down}}}} | align="right" | $2.70 billion {{down}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2023<ref name="afr2023">{{cite news |author1=Bailey, Michael |author2=Sprague, Julie-anne |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-richest-people-revealed-20230523-p5dapa |title=The 200 richest people in Australia revealed |work=Australian Financial Review |date=26 May 2023 |access-date=6 June 2023}}</ref> | align="center" | {{nowrap|{{nts|40}} {{steady}}}} | align="right" | $2.76 billion {{up}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2024<ref name="afr2024">{{cite news |author1=Redrup, Yolanda |author2=Bailey, Michael |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-10-richest-people-revealed-20240521-p5jfe4 |title=Australia's wealthiest 200 now control $625b |work=Australian Financial Review |date=30 May 2024 |access-date=18 September 2024}}</ref> | align="center" | {{nts|46}} {{down}} | align="right" | $2.88 billion {{up}} | align="center" | | align="right" | |- | 2025<ref name="afr2025">{{cite news |author1=Redrup, Yolanda |url=https://www.afr.com/rich-list/australia-s-wealthiest-200-revealed-fortunes-blow-past-667b-20250509-p5lxxb |title=Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed, fortunes blow past $667b |work=Australian Financial Review |date=30 May 2025 |access-date=31 May 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | align="center" | {{nts|49}} {{down}} | align="right" | $3.10 billion {{up}} | align="center" | | align="right" |
|}
{{column}} {| class="wikitable" !colspan="2"|<small>Legend</small> |- !<small> Icon</small> !<small> Description</small> |- |{{steady}} |<small>Has not changed from the previous year</small> |- |{{profit}} |<small>Has increased from the previous year</small> |- |{{loss}} |<small>Has decreased from the previous year</small> |} {{columns-end}}
===Personality=== Klimenko is a non-comfortist;<ref name=AAApril2013/> Jane Cadzow of ''The Age'' noted "She swears, she smokes, she has a lot of tattoos."<ref name="TheAge2018" /> Described as "…outspoken and unapologetic…" by ''Autosport'',<ref name=Autosport2019Profile/> she is popular in Australian motorsport for "…her very personal brand of fan engagement plays very well indeed with the fans…" according to ''DailySportsCar''.<ref name="DSCInterview" />
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klimenko, Betty}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Businesspeople from Sydney Category:Australian adoptees Category:20th-century Australian women Category:21st-century Australian women Category:21st-century Australian businesspeople Category:Australian businesswomen Category:Australian motorsport people Category:Motorsport team owners Category:Supercars Championship Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Australian billionaires Category:Female billionaires