An 87-year-old American billionaire bought the first Ferrari Luce for $40 million, and the purchase could save him $13 million in taxes

The American billionaire who bought Ferrari’s first electric vehicle model for an eye-watering eight figures may be able to cash in on a tax write-off perk from the purchase.

Earlier this month, 87-year-old optometrist-turned-businessman-turned-philanthropist Dr.

Herbert A.

Wertheim bought a Ferrari Luce at a Sotheby’s public auction for $40 million .

The auction was part of a charity effort to benefit the Ferrari Foundation, which funds global education initiatives.

The $40 million buying prices on the auto was more than 36 times the model’s presale estimates of $1.1 million. (The Luce retails for $640,000, but the auctioned car had a higher price tag because it had a pre-production chassis.) Now, it seems Wertheim may end up getting a large chunk of that purchase back, as part of a longtime American tradition of the country incentivizing the nation’s wealthiest philanthropists into giving back.

Large charity donations like Wertheim’s can lend themselves to massive tax write-offs as a result of America’s tax system.

Automotive content creator and television presenter Peter Greaves first brought attention to the potential for Wertheim to gain millions back on the purchase of his Luce in a recent Youtube video.

When Wertheim files his 2026 taxes, he would have to subtract the estimated sale value of $1.1 million from the $40 million the car sold for.

As of the IRS’s 2026 tax rules, he would then have to take away a 0.5% floor of his adjusted gross income, which Greaves estimated to be $200 million, leaving $37.9 million.

The U.S.’s 2/37ths rule created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which caps tax savings of itemized deductions at 35% compared to the previous 37% for top earners, would further reduce the sum to $35.85 million.

According to tax law, 37% of that total could be claimed, meaning Wertheim could receive more than $13 million back from the U.S. government for his purchase.

Wertheim, who did not immediately respond to Fortune ’s request for comment, has made no public comments about possibly taking advantage of the tax write-off for the Luce, or for any previous charity auction purchases.

The philanthropist has an estimated net worth of $4.8 billion and has previously participated in a previous charity auction for luxury vehicles, reportedly paying $26 million for the Ferrari Daytona SP3, or “599+1.” He has donated more than $200 million to various causes, including $50 million to UC Berkeley Optometry and $100 million to Baptist Health Foundation.