France’s
luxury-goods tycoons pledged 300 million euros ($339 million) to help in the
reconstruction of Notre-Dame cathedral after the Paris landmark was ravaged by
fire on Monday, answering a call from President Emmanuel Macron for a
fund-raising campaign.
Francois-Henri Pinault, the chairman and
chief executive officer of Gucci owner Kering SA, and his father, Francois
Pinault, will donate 100 million euros from their Artemis investment company,
the family said Tuesday in an emailed statement. Their archrival, the Arnault
family, responded minutes later with a pledge of 200 million euros and the
architectural and design resources of their LVMH fashion conglomerate.
“This tragedy is striking all the French
people, and beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values,”
Francois-Henri Pinault, 56, said in the statement. “Faced with this tragedy,
everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as
possible.”
Macron vowed
to rebuild Notre-Dame in central Paris after the fire hit the 850-year-old
Gothic monument. He called for donations to reconstruct the building and said
he would draw on the world’s best talents for the task.
The elder Pinault, 82, is the world’s 23rd
richest person, with a fortune estimated at $37.3 billion, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Ile-de-France regional government around
Paris will release 10 million euros in emergency aid to the archdiocese for
initial rebuilding work, Valerie Pecresse, the region’s elected head, said in
an interview on Radio Classique. People wanting to make donations can do so via
the non-profit Fondation du Patrimoine, Pecresse said.
Bernard Arnault, the main shareholder of
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, and his family will donate money
“dedicated to the construction of this architectural work, which makes up part
of the history of France.” He’s the world’s third-richest person, with a $90.4
billion fortune.
“LVMH Group will put at the disposal of the
state all of its teams — creative, architectural, financial — to help on the
one hand with the long construction work, and on the other hand with the
fundraising effort,” the family said in a statement. - Fortune.com
No comments:
Post a Comment