Gérard Louis-Dreyfus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gérard C. Louis-Dreyfus (born 1932, Paris, France), also known as William Louis-Dreyfus, is a French businessman. With his family's net worth estimated at $3.4 billion by Forbes, he is one of the richest men in the world.
Contents |
[edit] Family Background
He is the son of businessman/racecar driver Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, and his mother was Pierre's first wife, Dolores Neubauer, the daughter of an American industrialist. Dolores Neubauer was also married to and divorced from Michel Théodore Robert Edmond Porgès, an heir to the Jules Porgès diamond mining fortune. The famous Porgès Diamond was named in honor of Jules Porgès by jeweller Harry Winston.
[edit] Life
In 1940 he moved to the United States with his American mother after her divorce from Pierre. By 1945 he had adopted the name William as a symbol of his integration into American society [1].
While in France he retains the name Gérard; in the US he is William. After graduating from Duke University and Duke University Law School, he worked at the law firm of Dewey Ballantine, New York, before joining Louis Dreyfus in 1965.
[edit] Business
The family business, the Louis Dreyfus Group, encompasses citrus, agricultural commodities, energy (crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, petrochemicals and plastic resins), Agricultural Financial Risk Management, manufacturing, real estate, shipping, and telecommunications.
[edit] Immediate Family
First Wife: Judith Bowles. Separated, 1962.
Child With Judith Bowles:
- (1)actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, born January 13, 1961.
Second Wife: Phyllis B. Louis-Dreyfus.
Children With Phyllis Louis-Dreyfus:
- (1)social worker Phoebe Emily Dominique Louis-Dreyfus Eavis, born May, 1968.
- (2)social worker Emma R. Louis-Dreyfus, born 1974.
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus is said to have two other children, also by Phyllis Louis-Dreyfus.
[edit] Cousinships
One cousin is Jean Louis-Dreyfus, grandson of the family business founder, Leopold Louis-Dreyfus. Another cousin is Robert Louis-Dreyfus, the former owner of Adidas.
