Paolo Barilla (born 20 April 1961 in Milan, Italy) is a former Formula One driver who raced for the Minardi team. He is one of the heirs of the vast Barilla pasta empire and, as of January 2017, had a net worth of US$1.39 billion.Barilla started racing in 1975 and won the Italian 100cc karting title the following year. He entered Formula Fiat Abarth in 1980 and the next year moved up to Formula 3, in which he won some races and finished third in the Italian Championship. He then entered Formula 2 in 1982 with Minardi, but between 1983 and 1988 he concentrated in sports car racing, winning 24 Hours of Le Mans by a three-lap margin in 1985, among other victories, in the Joest Racing Porsche 956, co-driven at various times with Klaus Ludwig, Paul Belmondo, Marc Duez and Louis Krages (also known at the time as John Winter). In 1987 Barilla returned to single-seaters and raced in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, before returning to Minardi in 1989 for a test. This test gave him the chance to replace Pierluigi Martini at Suzuka that year and afterwards was signed to drive for the team in 1990. Barilla wasn't quick enough to qualify regularly and was replaced before the end of the year by Gianni Morbidelli. Barilla then retired from racing and joined his family's businesses, where he and his two brothers own a 51 percent stake in the company. Upon his return to the corporation, he briefly filled in as the CEO before taking a more permanent position as a Vice-President. He has remained connected to motorsports, in part due to Barilla's sponsorship of Alex Zanardi.Barilla was featured in a 2017 documentary about the restoration of a Ferrari 312B historic Formula 1 race car.