A million-dollar custom Bentley, once owned by the late flamboyant stockbroker Rene Rivkin, has hit the market – just days after his wife died suddenly.
The news that the heavily modified vehicle is up for sale – at a fraction of its original price – comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed that Rivkin’s widow Gayle passed away last week, 18 years after her husband committed suicide.
Rivkin ordered the Bentley Turbo RL in 1988, when he was the country’s best-known stockbroker, before a spectacular downfall landed him imprisoned for insider trading.
According to marketing materials, the one-off car, adjusted for inflation, was said to have cost more than $1 million when it went live, but is now being offered for $67,990.
A million-dollar custom Bentley, once owned by the late flamboyant stockbroker Rene Rivkin, has hit the market – at a fraction of its original price. Rivkin, who suffered from brain tumors and bipolar disorder, took his own life in 2004 after serving a prison sentence for insider trading
“The story goes that Rivkin went to Eggerton’s in London – a now-defunct coachbuilder who built Bentleys before the war and later became a retailer – and commissioned this car for his residence in London,” the ad read.
“Referred to in his biography, the Bentley was driven by a chauffeur and escorted Rivkin’s distinguished guests to and from Heathrow when in town, and also around local areas such as Park Lane to view the wares.”
The hand-built, turbocharged, long-wheelbase British V8 has 86,000 miles on the clock and has been owned by two collectors since 2006, when it left the Rivkin estate.
The Bentley features a writing desk that fits into the side cab, a drinks cabinet and tray that fits a carafe and two glasses, and a rear center seat for CDs.
Rivkin ordered the car in gloss black with a red leather interior, ebony inlays and cherry carpets, as well as hand-painted body stripes down the sides.
The car comes with a detailed service history, Rivkin Group papers proving its provenance and additional paraphernalia including a Bentley towel.
The Bentley features a writing desk that fits into the side of the cab, a drinks cabinet and tray that fits a carafe and two glasses, and a rear center seating area for CDs.
The hand-built, turbocharged, long-wheelbase British V8 has 86,000 miles on the clock and has been owned by two collectors since 2006 when it left the Rivkin estate
“Examples like this rarely exist because characters like Rene Rivkin — with the means and the mind to command such a vehicle — are just as rare,” said the Cult and Classic car dealership ad campaign.
“After use in the UK, Rivkin personally imported the car to Australia in the late 1990s, where it famously appeared in the major city district until his death.”
Cult and Classic owner Justin Narayan told Daily Mail Australia that Rivkin’s black Bentley screams ’80s excess’.
“It’s a cool car,” said Mr. Narayan. “It certainly has a bit of credibility. Everyone I’ve seen walk in here and know who he is is instantly in love with it.
‘At the same time he had ordered a Ferrari with exactly the same pinstripe, with exactly the same red leather interior. They were a matching pair.’
Rivkin was almost as well known for his collection of luxury cars as he was for wearing gold worry beads and chewing Davidoff cigars.
But he was rarely seen behind the wheel, preferring to let others take the wheel.
“I’m very different from most people who buy these cars, because I don’t know anything about them and I don’t like driving,” Rivkin said in October 1995. “I just think they’re beautiful things — works of art on wheels.”
Rivkin’s most famous driver in Sydney was Gordon Wood, who worked for the financial guru from October 1993 to February 1996.
Wood’s model girlfriend Caroline Byrne was found dead in June 1995 at the bottom of The Gap in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Wood was found guilty of Byrne’s murder in November 2008 and spent more than three years in prison before his conviction was overturned in February 2012.
Rivkin ordered the car in gloss black with a red leather interior, ebony inlays and cherry carpets, as well as hand-painted body stripes in his own signature color
At Wood’s trial, two Watsons Bay restorers testified that they saw a green two-door Bentley in The Gap at around 3pm on the day of Mrs Byrne’s death. Rivkin owned a green four-door Bentley at the time.
The court heard that the only comparable vehicle in Australia – a green two-door Continental R Bentley – belonged to advertising magnate John Singleton and that it was not his car that was spotted that afternoon.
Rivkin was the youngest ever member of the Sydney Stock Exchange and was named Stockbroker of the Year in 1985 by Business Review Weekly magazine.
He first became embroiled in major controversy after a printing company called Offset Alpine, of which Rivkin was chairman and principal investor, was destroyed by fire in 1993, resulting in an insurance payout of $53 million.
In April 2003, Rivkin was found guilty of insider trading by buying Qantas stock based on market-sensitive information that the airline was to merge with Impulse Airlines.
The car comes with a detailed service history, Rivkin Group papers proving its provenance and additional paraphernalia including a Bentley towel.
Rivkin was sentenced to nine months in prison, but collapsed after just one day in his cell. He underwent brain surgery and resumed his sentence in 2004.
Upon his release, Rivkin exhibited increasingly erratic behavior and was treated for bipolar disorder. He spoke publicly about contemplating suicide.
After his first suicide attempt, Rivkin moved from the family’s residence in Point Piper to his mother’s home in Darling Point, where he committed suicide in May 2005. He was 60.
Gayle Rivkin, who had been campaigning for more research and understanding of brain tumors, left behind five children when she died suddenly last week.
Eldest son Damien told Daily Mail Australia: ‘We are devastated at the loss of our mother Gayle Rivkin. She was a loving and devoted mother and grandmother.”
“The family is requesting privacy at this time and will not be making any further statements.”
Rivkin was the youngest ever member of the Sydney Stock Exchange and was named Stockbroker of the Year in 1985 by Business Review Weekly magazine. His Bentley is pictured