French billionaire, Francois-Henri Pinault is
known as the chairman and CEO of Kering – a luxury brand. He also serves as the
President of Groupe Artemis. And in pop culture, he is better known as
Salma Hayek’s husband and Linda Evangelista’s baby daddy.

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Honestly, it doesn’t matter how you know him –
but the fortune attached to his name does matter. Let’s take a quick roundup of
this 5 ft 7 inches long filthy rich personality:

A Celebrated
Businessman

Let’s start this list of 7 interesting facts
with it fact: He has earned massive success in the business community, which
has earned him praises from all around the world. Throughout his career, he has
managed to earn a significant number of awards and accolades. He received a
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2006, and a place in the Vanity Fair Hall
of Fame in 2016.

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In addition, he also received the title of
Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year in 2018, a GCC Global Leaders of Change
Award in 2015, and an ADL (Anti-Defamation League) International Leadership
Award in 2015 as he set an example in raising awareness regarding
discrimination against women and minorities at the workplace. In 2018, he was also
named at number four by the Harvard Business Review for being the Best
Performing CEO in the World.

Marriages and
Children

In 2006, Pinault started dating actress Salma
Hayek and, by March of the next year, rumors starting speculating that she was
expecting her first child with the French businessman. A month later, the
couple got engaged and in the September of that year, they gave birth to
daughter Valentina. The couple got married in a private ceremony on Valentine’s
Day in 2009. In 2009, the couple renewed their vows in front of family and
friends.

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However, it’s not just his high profile
romance with the iconic actress that has kept him in the spotlight, He was
previously married to Dorothee Lepère from 1996 to 2004, and both have two
children together. He also enjoyed a brief romance with Canadian model, Linda
Evangelista, which ended up being productive as the duo also share a kid
together.

He Was Sued For
Child Support

In 2011, the French businessman got sued by
his former lover and baby mama, Linda Evangelista. He was accused of not paying
a single cent to the mother of his son for his upbringing – the attorney made a
quick comparison with the lifestyle his daughter Valentina enjoyed. This case
gained widespread media attention, and the court ruled in the mother’s favor –
$46,000 per month for child support.

He Donated More
Than 100 Million Euros to Rebuild Notre Dame

In the April of 2019, the world witnessed the
famous Notre-Dame Paris cathedral go down in flames. The building was
completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt from scratch. During this time,
Pinault was amongst the first ones to make generous amounts of donations. His
donation helped in the renovation of this building – it could be said that he
was amongst the few people responsible for bringing the building back to its
former glory.

He Believes In
Taking Initiatives and Standing Up Against Oppression

Pinault is known for taking a bold public
stance. In fact, in 2019, he made a defining speech at the Annual Women’s Forum
I Paris, where he spoke passionately about the #MeToo Movement and how big
brands need to back those voices. He believes in taking accountability when
you’re in a massively privileged position.

In one of his speeches, he said that companies
need to think beyond their business goals and objectives and focus on building
a culture that is empowering and liberating. In 2009, he formed the Kering
Foundation – an organization responsible for defending women’s rights and
empowering them by providing economic sufficiency and opportunities for social
entrepreneurship.

He has spoken strongly against sexual and domestic violence
alongside Female Genital Mutilations, child trafficking forced marriages and
honor killings.

He’s not as Rich
as His Father

Billionaire Francois Pinault is the father of
Francois-Henri Pinault, who was the actual force behind the massive Kering
foundation. He literally built the company from scratch and transformed the
company from a minor wood trading company to the world’s most luxurious brand!

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Pinault Jr. took over the company in 2003 and
has played a crucial role in increasing the revenue of Kering. However, “would
he have managed to acquire so much wealth” remains to be a question. Pinault Sr.
has a net worth of 42.5B, whereas his son has an estimated worth of $25.5
billion. His wife, Salma Hayek, is also a wealthy woman who enjoys a total sum
of $115 million net worth to her name.

He’s The CEO of
Kering Since 2005

As mentioned earlier, he formally joined the
company in 2003 and, in a matter of two years, he became the CEO. He previously
served as the Vice-President of PPR along with the President of Artemis – a company
that holds some of the family assets. Ever since he took on the role of the
CEO, he’s made several critical changes to the company. For example, he
rebranded the company name and changed it from PPR to Kering. He also began
focusing on brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent which have helped him immensely
in increasing the overall revenues – from 3 to 10 billion dollars!

We’ve got to admit that French billionaire
Francois-Henri Pinault is one hell of a man who has made some serious
contributions to the world as we know it. Good for Salma Hayek!

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Hope you liked these interesting facts about Francois Pinault the founder of
PPR and Girard-Perregaux!