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What is Xavier Niel’s Net Worth?
Xavier Niel, the French entrepreneur and businessman, has an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion. The primary source of Niel’s wealth is his founding and majority ownership of Iliad, a leading French telecommunications company that operates under the Free brand.
Niel’s innovative approach to the telecom market, including the introduction of low-cost internet and mobile services, has been instrumental in building Iliad into a major player in the industry. His stake in Iliad forms a significant portion of his net worth.
Beyond Iliad, Niel has diversified his investments across various sectors. He is a co-owner of the prestigious French newspaper Le Monde and has interests in other media outlets.
Niel is also known for his investments in startups through Kima Ventures, which he co-founded, and has made personal investments in telecommunications companies in several countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, and Monaco.
Here’s the breakdown of Xavier Niel’s net worth:
Name: | Xavier Niel |
Net Worth: | $10.42 Billion |
Date of Birth: | August 16, 1946 |
Profession: | Businessperson |
If you’re curious about how we estimate a celebrity’s net worth, you can check out our methodology here.
Early Life and Education
Xavier Niel was born on August 25, 1967, in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb of Paris, France. He came from a middle-class family, with his father working as a lawyer for a pharmaceutical laboratory and his mother as an accountant. Niel’s educational path was unconventional for someone who would later become a billionaire.
He attended the Saint-Michel-de-Picpus Catholic private high school in Paris’s 12th arrondissement but did not complete his formal education.
At the age of 15, Niel received a Sinclair ZX81 computer as a Christmas gift from his father, which sparked his interest in technology and entrepreneurship. This early exposure to computers would prove pivotal in shaping his future career.
Rather than pursuing higher education, Niel dropped out of high school at 16 to focus on his entrepreneurial ventures.
Career
At 19, Niel founded his first company, a Minitel service provider. Minitel was a French precursor to the internet, and Niel’s services included adult-oriented chat platforms, which proved to be highly lucrative. This early success laid the foundation for his future endeavors in the tech industry.
In 1999, Niel founded Free, an internet service provider that would revolutionize the French telecommunications market. Free’s business model of offering low-cost, high-quality internet services disrupted the existing market and quickly gained popularity. In 2012, Niel expanded into the mobile market with Free Mobile, offering competitive plans that further shook up the industry.
Beyond telecommunications, Niel has diversified his investments. He co-founded Kima Ventures in 2010, an angel investment fund that has invested in hundreds of startups worldwide. He also established École 42, a tuition-free coding school, in 2013. Niel has significant media interests, including a controlling stake in Le Monde newspaper group.
Judiciary Problems
Despite his business success, Niel has faced legal challenges that have impacted his reputation and, at times, his freedom. In May 2004, Niel was indicted and detained for a month on charges of alleged procuring and misuse of company assets. These charges were related to several sex shops in which he was a shareholder.
The legal proceedings resulted in a mixed outcome for Niel. In August 2005, the procuring part of his indictment was dropped with a nolle prosequi (decision not to prosecute). However, in October 2006, he was given a two-year suspended prison sentence for the misuse of company assets.
Awards
In 2009, Xavier Niel was honored with the Grand Prix Manager of the Year at the BFM Awards, recognizing his leadership and innovative contributions to the sector.
In 2011, he was named the “Most Influential Digital Personality of the Year” at the Hub Awards.
In 2015, Wired magazine ranked Niel as the seventh most influential personality in technology globally. Two years later, in 2017, Vanity Fair recognized him as the most influential French person in the world abroad.
In addition, Niel was awarded the prestigious Légion d’honneur, France’s highest order of merit, underscoring his contributions to the country’s economy and technological advancement.
Personal Life
Xavier Niel is in a long-term relationship with Delphine Arnault, a prominent French businesswoman who serves as the executive vice president at Louis Vuitton and the chairwoman and CEO of Dior.
Delphine is the daughter of Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Together, Niel and Delphine have a daughter, and Niel also has two sons from a previous relationship.
Niel resides in Paris, where he owns several notable properties. In 2013, he acquired a five-star hotel in the French ski resort of Courchevel, and in 2016, he purchased the historic Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris for over $226 million. This 17th-century mansion is reportedly intended to serve as the headquarters for Niel’s cultural foundation.
Ashley Roberts is the founder of Real-Time Billionaires List. She founded this platform because she likes to know how much celebrities are actually making. She is always curious why these people can make much more money than the ordinary person.
With a Bachelor’s degree in finance, she is skilled at financial analysis and understands numbers related to wealth. Most of the articles on this site are edited by herself before publishing.
