French billionaire Pierre-Edouard Sterin calls for change
Tara Patel And Ania Nussbaum
French billionaire Pierre-Edouard Sterin, who has sparked controversy due to his right-wing politics, is asking lawmakers to change the rules so he can disinherit his five children, saying he prefers to give his fortune to charity.
“I want to give all of my assets to charitable causes,” the businessman told senators during a public hearing on Thursday, noting that according to French law, three-quarters of his assets must be transferred to his children. “I am in favor of people being able to do whatever they want with their inheritance.”
French inheritance rules derive in part from Napoleonic law and include compulsory inheritance, in which children are protected and assets generally cannot be transferred according to one’s will. This is a common concept in civil law areas across Europe, but not in places like the US and the UK.
Sterin made his call before a committee examining private sector financing and its impact on public policymaking. His appearance via video link comes a year after he angered lawmakers in the National Assembly, the country’s lower house, for not attending another hearing, citing death threats and security risks.
The 52-year-old tax exile from Belgium has sparked intense controversy in France in recent years over his support of charitable and political organisations, some of which are linked to causes promoted by the far right. Sterin said he hoped his actions would help put France on a more right-wing, economically liberal and conservative path.
Sterin was labeled the “French Elon Musk” and rated the people in his life on a scale of one to ten in a special Excel spreadsheet. money week reported He said he ranked his now-wife Amandine against strict marriage criteria before proposing.
He told senators he was “center-right” but more extreme on immigration than the far-right National Rally, whose leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are ahead in the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election. But Sterin has ties to the RN party through François Durvye, the former CEO of his family office Otium Capital.
“I am in favor of reimmigrating foreigners who are criminals, undocumented or unemployed for more than 12 months,” Sterin said.
She has refused to talk about her stance against abortion, putting her at odds with Le Pen, who supports enshrining women’s freedom to seek abortions in the French constitution.
Sterin’s net worth is worth approximately €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This calculation is based on the net asset value of the investment portfolio he holds through Otium.
The origins of the fortune lie in the gift voucher company Smartbox, which Sterin founded from a small franchise he bought using €5,000 from his family. It has diversified through startups and private equity investments, including Hadrena, operator of entertainment centers such as Speedpark and Kids Empire.
Otium announced in April that it has sold a majority stake in Dossier, the US brand of affordable designer perfume dupes sold in Walmart stores and online.
