Stashed Classic Cars Belonging to Bikram Yoga Master Seized, Headed to Auction

4 years, 2 months ago - 12 February 2020, autoevolution
Stashed Classic Cars Belonging to Bikram Yoga Master Seized, Headed to Auction
Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram Yoga, aka Hot Yoga, is still hiding out in Mexico to dodge all kinds of serious accusations in the U.S. Half of his impressive car collection has been found, and the automobiles will be heading to auction.

Trouble for Bikram Choudhury started in 2014, when it began to transpire that he had built his $100+ million yoga empire on a flatbed of lies, harassment, abuse of all types, discrimination, homophobia and overall viciousness. He denied all allegations and continues to do so to this day but, when the proverbial number 2 hit the fan in 2016, he made sure to keep some of his valuables from creditors.

With several lawsuits against him pending, he stashed half of his impressive car collection in a warehouse in Miami. The cars simply went "missing" and no one knew where. That year, he also divorced his wife of 31 years, making sure that she got a lot of real estate and several other cars in the settlement, which could not be seized in case he was found guilty and made to pay damages in any of the pending lawsuits.

After 3 years, the cars stashed in Miami were found, the New York Post reports, citing court documents. Police were able to track the 22 cars down and seize them, and they will be heading to auction in March this year at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Among the cars found is a 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III (the same model that appears in 1964 the James Bond movie Goldfinger). The report notes that the collection includes a 1966 Jaguar M10, a 1971 Pontiac LeMans, a 1969 Murano, a specially constructed Ford GT40 and a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, but doesn't say whether these were among those seized as well.

In total, Choudhury's car collection totals over 40 cars, including a dozen Rolls-Royces, five Bentleys, three Ferraris and six Mercedes-Benzes. The items that will be heading to auction are expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.5 million, and the money will be divided among creditors, including the warehouse where he stashed them, which claims unpaid storage fees of $600,000.

Bikram Choudhury was extremely popular with celebrities, including Madonna, David Beckham and George Clooney, but his Hot Yoga classes were a hit even in Europe. They consisted of a routine of 26 yoga poses performed over 90 minutes in 105-degree heat, admittedly simulating the heat in India.

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