What is Wayne Carini's Net Worth?
Wayne Carini is an American master car restorer who has a net worth of $20 million. Wayne Carini is best known for presenting the documentary season "Chasing Classic Cars," which premiered in 2008 and aired 204 episodes over 17 seasons through 2021. The show airs on the Motor Trend channel (which was called the Velocity Channel when the show debuted). As the owner of three Connecticut-based car companies, notably F40 Motorsports, Wayne has worked on cars for many celebrities and extremely wealthy people, including David Letterman, Ivan Lendl, and members of the DuPont family.
Early Life
Wayne Carini was born in Portland, Connecticut, on October 13, 1951. His father, Robert Carini, owned a collision repair business in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The father specialized in classic, mostly American cars. Though Carini never doubted his passion for classic cars, he says he came to do what he does almost by accident in that he started working for his father's shop in grade school, sweeping floors for $5 a week, went on to college to become a teacher, but ended up stepping into his father's shoes in 1973. Wayne transformed it into a classic restoration shop and dealership.
Wayne first fell in love with classic cars at the age of nine when he took a ride in a 1960 Rosso Chiaro 250 SWB Ferrari. He was instantly bitten by the Ferrari bug. He went on to learn the art of Ferrari restoration from his mentor, Francois Sicard, a former racing mechanic and Ferrari expert. Wayne went on to launch three companies in Portland, Connecticut: F40 Motorsports, Continental Auto Ltd., and Carini Carozzeria. F40 buys and sells vintage cars. Continental is a collision repair shop. And Carini Carozzeria is a restoration shop that specializes in high-end exotics.
(Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)
Chasing Classic Cars
Though Carini never went looking for a career in reality television, the opportunity came knocking when producers came across his name in a New York Times article. "Chasing Classic Cars" debuted in 2008. It went on to air 204 episodes over 17 seasons through 2021. The show followed Carini season after season as he wheeled and dealed across the country.
Carini also has a passion for getting young people involved in collecting and restoring classic cars, stating on his own website that he fears that without the engaging of young people, he fears the art of collecting classic cars will become extinct. Carini resides in rural Connecticut in a log home with his family. He is an avid supporter of the cause of autism, an incentive that arose from his own daughter's diagnosis at an early age.
Real Estate
In January 2014, Wayne paid $1.15 million for a 13-acre property in Portland, Connecticut, that features an 11,000-square-foot home.
