France is one of the largest economies in Europe. In 2024, 68 billionaires will live in France. They own luxury goods companies, are active in the beauty sector or in food and beverages. These ultra-high net-worth individuals have a long tradition of managing their wealth through holding companies and family offices. Here are the 5 richest French people and their involvement in family offices.
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This article directly stems from the research process for our European single-family office database. Our list of European single-family offices includes the most important family investment vehicles from France that invest in various areas, such as financial markets, real estate, venture capital, private equity, and renewables.
#1 Bernard Arnault Family Office, Net Worth $233BN
Bernard Arnault is the founder and owner of LVHM (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), the world’s largest luxury goods company. Today, LVHM is an empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton, Moët, Birkenstock, Hublot, and the newspaper Le Parisien. LVMH is now a family business, with all five of Bernard Arnault’s children working for the company.The Arnault family has multiple investment vehicles, such as the holding company Financière Agache & Groupe Arnault.
#2 Francoise Bettencourt Meyers Family Office, Net Worth $99.5BN
The Bettencourt family’s main source of income is a 33% stake in the world’s largest beauty company, L’Oreal. L’Oreal has a wide range of beauty products and now employs more than 90,000 people. In 2024, L’Oreal had a turnover of more than 41 billion euros and a net cash flow of 6.1 billion euros. The Bettencourt family office is called Tethys Invest. It is structured as a private equity fund with capital of more than three billion euros.
#3 The Wertheimer Brothers Gerard & Alain Family Office, Net Worth $73.6BN (combined)
The Wertheimer family is led by the brothers Gérard and Alain Wertheimer. Together they control Chanel, one of the world’s most iconic luxury brands. Gérard is based in Switzerland and oversees the watch division, while Alain is chairman at Chanel. The Wertheimer family office, Mousse Partners, maintains high secrecy about its operations. Mousse Partners is a key division of Mousse Investments Limited, a private investment firm founded in 1979.
#4 François Pinault Family Office, Net Worth $31.6BN
Francois Pinault is a famous French billionaire. In 1962, Pinault founded the Kering Group, which now operates various luxury brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Boucheron. The investments of François Pinault and his family are made through Groupe Artemis. The group was established in 1992. It actively invests in companies and is the majority shareholder of Kering.
#5 Emmanuel Besnier Family Office, Net Worth $25.5BN
The Besnier family owns Lactalis, one of the largest global producers of cheese including products like brie and yogurt. The company became one of the world’s biggest dairy companies. The French-based company now has 260 production sites in over 50 countries with an annual revenue of $29.5bn in 2023. Emmanuel Besnier and his two siblings are holding 83% stakes in Lactalis. The trio also owns shares in Parmalat.
Picture source: Dorian Mongel
Last Updated on December 3, 2024
