Ferrari’s first production Luce has found an owner, and the identity of the person behind its extraordinary $40 million winning bid is almost as interesting as the car itself. Dr. Herbert “Herbie” Wertheim is an optometrist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist whose fortune has been estimated in the billions.
Wertheim acquired the Ferrari Luce Chassis 0 during Monterey Car Week, reportedly paying roughly 36 times its pre-auction estimate. The white Tailor Made example represents the first production version of Ferrari’s controversial electric flagship and became an exceptionally expensive piece of modern Ferrari history in the process.
This isn’t Wertheim’s first enormous check for a special Ferrari, either. One year earlier, he reportedly paid $26 million at Monterey for the unique final Ferrari Daytona SP3, known as “599+1,” through another charity auction.
There is an important detail behind both purchases: the proceeds benefit the Ferrari Foundation and its charitable work. That puts the headline-grabbing prices into a different context, with Wertheim effectively combining his enthusiasm for Ferrari with a much deeper history of philanthropy.
From Optometry To A Multibillion-Dollar Fortune
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Born in Philadelphia in 1939, Wertheim didn’t build his wealth by starting a flashy technology company or becoming a Wall Street celebrity. His professional background began in eye care and eventually expanded into medical inventions, manufacturing, and decades of investing.
Wertheim founded Brain Power Inc., a company specializing in products for the optical industry, and has been credited with developing UV-absorbing technology for plastic eyeglass lenses. He has accumulated more than 100 patents and copyrights during his career.
Investing became another major source of his wealth. Wertheim began putting business profits into stocks decades ago, building long-term positions that reportedly included early investments in companies such as Apple and Microsoft as well as a major stake in aerospace and electronics company HEICO.
That patient approach ultimately helped create a fortune estimated at several billion dollars. Suddenly, spending $40 million at a Ferrari auction becomes slightly easier to comprehend.
He’s Also Given Away Hundreds Of Millions
Wertheim’s Ferrari purchases fit into a much larger pattern of charitable giving. His philanthropy has focused heavily on education and healthcare, with major gifts to universities and medical organizations.
Those contributions have included substantial donations to the University of Florida and UC Berkeley. In May 2026, Baptist Health South Florida also announced a $100 million gift from the Wertheim family supporting healthcare initiatives.
His latest Ferrari purchase continues that theme in considerably more automotive fashion. Proceeds from the Luce auction are going to the Ferrari Foundation, which supports educational initiatives.
The $40 million figure therefore shouldn’t be interpreted as the normal market value of a Ferrari Luce. This was a charity auction involving the first production example, giving bidders reasons to spend far beyond what an ordinary customer would pay for the car.
His $40 Million Luce Isn’t Exactly Standard
Chassis 0 is appropriately distinctive. Its exterior is finished in a bespoke Madreperla Semi-Gloss white that can reveal green and violet tones depending on lighting, while matching white wheels continue the unusual specification.
Ferrari’s Tailor Made department also gave the cabin special treatment. Le Mans metallic leather produced from selected Swiss hides is finished in a light color designed to complement the exterior, giving this particular Luce a specification unlikely to be confused with another example.
The Luce itself is Ferrari’s first series-production electric vehicle and produces a claimed 1,050 metric horsepower, equivalent to approximately 1,036 hp. Its controversial styling has generated plenty of debate, yet that clearly hasn’t stopped Ferrari’s wealthiest customers from showing interest.
Wertheim Already Bought A $26 Million Ferrari
Perhaps the most astonishing part of the story is that Wertheim did something remarkably similar only a year ago. He was identified as the buyer of Ferrari’s one-off Daytona SP3 Tailor Made, which sold for $26 million at Monterey in 2025.
That car was effectively an additional example beyond the Daytona SP3’s original 599-car production allocation and carried unique “599+1” identification. Like the Luce sale, its proceeds were directed toward charity.
Wertheim has now spent a combined $66 million winning those two Ferrari charity auctions alone. The numbers are staggering, although viewing the purchases purely as extravagant additions to a car collection misses much of the point.
For Ferrari, Chassis 0 couldn’t have gone to a customer with a much more unusual story. Wertheim turned inventions and decades of patient investing into a multibillion-dollar fortune, has donated enormous sums to education and healthcare, and apparently has no objection to directing another $40 million toward a good cause when a very special Ferrari comes attached.