Joel Woolf Barnato (27 September 1895 – 27 July 1948) was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
The youngest son of Fanny Bees and Barney Barnato, who had made a fortune as a "Randlord" in South African diamond and gold mining, he was a relative of the Joel family of entrepreneurs.
Barnato was born at Spencer House, 27 St James's Place, London. He had a sister, Leah Primrose (died 1933) and a brother, Isaac "Jack" Henry (died 1918 of bronchial pneumonia). The family divided their time between London, Brighton, Colwyn Bay and South Africa.
In 1897, when Woolf was two years old, his father died near Madeira during a sea crossing from South Africa to London. The official verdict was suicide ("death by drowning while temporarily insane"). Woolf inherited his father's fortune, but with the monies placed in trust. He inherited his first instalment of £250,000 in 1914 at the age of 19. In addition, Woolf benefited from a further inheritance after the murder of Woolf Barnato Joel in Johannesburg in 1898.
Barnato was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Barnato's attitude to a new sport that took his interests, was to immerse himself in the learning process, practising endlessly and taking lessons only from the very best instructors he could find. His desire to excel at whatever he attempted was considerable.
Barnato collected prizes (including the 1925 Duke of York Trophy) for motor boat racing, using his Bentley-powered boat 'Ardenrun V'. A keen shot, he bred horses at his house Ardenrun, and hunted with the Old Surrey and Burstow Foxhounds. He was a strong swimmer, a good amateur boxer, and also played tennis to 'country house level'. He took golf lessons at Coombe Hill Golf Club, Kingston, Surrey, with the club professional Archie Compston, a friend of King Edward VIII.
Barnato served as an officer in the Royal Field Artillery, British Army in World War I. Serving in France, Egypt and Palestine, he attained the rank of captain in the latter stages of the war.
Having claimed a share of the business's profits from 1897 to 1916, in 1917, Barnato broke off his business arrangements with the Joels. After a long legal dispute in South Africa, Barnato settled for £900,000 plus £50,000 in costs. He then sued his family for the £50,000, as well as £23,883 for disbursements.
Following settlement of the case, Barnato played first-class cricket, appearing as wicket-keeper with Surrey County Cricket Club from 1928 to 1930.
Barnato purchased his first Bentley, a 3-litre, in 1925, 12 months before he acquired the business itself. With this car he won numerous Brooklands races. He was a member of a social set of wealthy British motorists known as the "Bentley Boys" who favoured the cars of W. O. Bentley. Many were independently wealthy, often with a background in military service. Barnato was nicknamed "Babe", in ironic deference to his heavyweight boxer's build.
Inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank Clement, Barnato agreed to finance Bentley's business. Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922, which effectively existed as his finance and investment vehicle. Via Baromans, Barnato initially invested in excess of £100,000, saving the company and its workforce. A subsequent agreed wind-up of the original Bentley company was agreed, with all existing creditors paid off for £75,000, but with existing shares devalued from £1.00 each to just 1 shilling, or 5% or their original value. Barnato held 149,500 of the new shares, meaning that he controlled the company, and became chairman. Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 as a debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929.
With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was able to design another generation of cars, the six-cylinder 6½ Litre. However, the supercharged 4½ Litre (the famous "Blower" Bentley), which Barnato pushed through against Bentley's wishes, had poor durability and failed on the track.
The Wall Street crash of 1929 affected the Bentley business greatly, with the Great Depression reducing demand for the company's expensive products. In July 1931, two mortgage payments on the firm that were guaranteed by Barnato fell due, and accepting the inevitable, he advised the lenders that he was "unable to meet these debts." On 10 July, on the application of the mortgagee, the court appointed a Receiver to Bentley Motors Limited. After a period where it appeared that Napier was going to acquire the business, the firm passed into the hands of Rolls-Royce in November 1931 for the sum of £125,000 after a sealed bid auction.
Barnato received around £42,000 in return for his shares in the business, having bought a sizeable stake in Rolls-Royce not long before Bentley Motors was liquidated. By 1934, he was again on the board of Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd.
Barnato first went motor racing in 1921, when after importing an eight-litre Locomobile from the United States, he signed-up to race at the Brooklands Easter meeting. Having come third in the 100-mile Long Handicap, he then swapped to a Calthorpe to compete in the following Whitsun meeting. For the 1922 season he bought a 1921 chassis Talbot directly from its owner/driver Malcolm Campbell, and for 1923 a Sir Alastair Miller customised-racing Wolseley Racing Moth. At the start of the 1924 season Barnato obtained an eight-litre Hispano-Suiza H6C chassis, which he commissioned Jarvis of Wimbledon to build a suitable racing body for. Barnato then established an eight-litre class racing record for the car.
In late 1924, Barnato obtained a prototype Bentley 3 Litre chassis, which was subsequently fitted with a boat-tail body by Jarvis for a cost of £400. Barnato used the car to win several major Brooklands races, and then partnered by John Duff set a new 3-litre 24-hour record averaging 95.03 miles per hour (152.94 km/h) at Autodrome de Montlhéry. Barnato later won the Brooklands Six Hour Race and Double Twelve Race in 1930. He was regarded by W.O. Bentley as, "The best driver we ever had and, I consider, the best British driver of his day. One who never made a mistake and always obeyed orders."
As a driver, Barnato won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race three times: