Gérard Mulliez
Gérard Mulliez | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 May 1931 Roubaix, France |
| Known for | Founder, Auchan |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Michel Leclercq (cousin) |
Gérard Paul Louis Marie-Joseph Mulliez (born 13 May 1931) is a French entrepreneur and the founder of the Auchan chain of department stores.
Early life
[edit]Gérard Mulliez was born on 13 May 1931, in Roubaix, France. His father, Gérard Mulliez, was the owner of Phildar, a knitting yarn brand founded by his grandfather, Louis Mulliez-Lestienne.[1][2] His uncle, Louis Mulliez, was the owner of the Saint-Liévin factory in Lille.[1] Gérard Mulliez has five siblings.[1]
Mulliez reportedly had bad grades in school.[1] He spent a year in England, where he learned to play rugby and pool and learned to speak English.[1] Despite his efforts, he failed his Baccalaureate.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Mulliez started his career working for his father's company, gradually working his way up until he became its Chairman.[1][2]
In 1961, at the age of twenty-nine, after being inspired by department stores during a trip to the US, he opened his first Auchan store in Roubaix, France.[3] He retired as chairman in 1996 and as CEO in 2006, handing over control to his nephew, Vianney Mulliez.[3]
His holding Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) controls Auchan[4] as well as a diverse mix of other retail chains such as Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, [5] Saint Maclou, Kiloutou, Kiabi, Flunch, etc.[6] It is co-owned between a thousand family members.[6] Six hundred of his cousins are millionaires as a result.[2]
In 2004, he was the recipient of the Légion d'honneur.[7]
In 2022, retailers founded or part-owned by Gérard Mulliez, including Auchan, Decathlon, and Leroy Merlin, face criticism for refusing to pull out from the Russian market as a result of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine[8] and even supporting the invasion through its Russian subsidiary.[9]
Wealth
[edit]According to Challenge Magazine, he was worth 19 billion Euros in 2013, 20 billion Euros in 2014, and according to Capital, nearly 40 billion Euros in 2016[10] making him the first richest person in France.[6][11][12] According to Capital, the Mulliez family was the richest family in France in 2014.[13] According to Hurun Report, he is 18th richest person in the world with a net worth of US$30 billion.[14] Some of his family members reside in Néchin, Belgium.[1][2]
He has revealed that he has also spent less than he earns,[15] and reinvests most of his earnings.[1] He added that most of his wealth is tied up in family shares, and he would not be able to spend much of it.[1] He is in favour of taxing annual incomes upwards of 500,000 Euros, but not dividends on investments, arguing that this would scare investors away.[1]
On 21 February 2015, he paid a personal visit to the youth wing of the French Communist Party in Lille to protest about a poster accusing him of profiting from the financial crisis, as he got richer while his employees saw their spending power diminish.[11][16] He argued that he employed a lot of people, adding that by the time he was their age, he had already opened his first store.[11][16]
Personal life
[edit]Mulliez and his wife have three children. They reside in Croix near Lille and own another house in the South of France.[1] They are practising Roman Catholics.[1] He enjoys spending his weekends biking and hiking in the countryside.[1]
Bibliography
[edit]- La Dynamique du client, Richard C. Whiteley and Gérard Mulliez, interview with Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Maxima, 1994[17] and 1997.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bordet, Marie (12 July 2012). "Gérard Mulliez se confie enfin". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Qui est Gérard Mulliez, troisième fortune de France et (discret) fondateur d'Auchan ?, Sud Ouest, 23 February 2015
- ^ a b Carol Matlack, 'Gerard Mulliez' Auchan: France's Wal-Mart Goes Global', in BusinessWeek, 10 December 2009 [1]
- ^ "Gérard Mulliez, fondateur d'Auchan, en 10 phrases chocs". LSA. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Gérard Mulliez, fondateur d'Auchan, en 10 phrases chocs". Le Point. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Gérard Mulliez et sa famille, Challenges Magazine
- ^ "Biographie de Gérard Mulliez Auchan". Edubourse.com. 13 May 1931. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ Gill, Oliver (20 March 2022). "Business as usual for the French firms ignoring Russia boycott". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Vidéo. Video investigation: How a French company is supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Le classement des 10 premières fortunes de France - Capital". Photo.capital.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Le fondateur d'Auchan à des jeunes communistes : "À votre âge, j'avais déjà ouvert mon premier magasin", Sud-Ouest, 23 February 2015
- ^ "Photo Gérard Mulliez". LeJDD.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ Classement des 100 Français les plus riches en 2014 : les Mulliez, toujours en tête, France 3, 25 June 2014
- ^ "胡润百富". Hurun.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ Gérard Mulliez: "Toujours dépenser moins qu'on gagne", in L'Express, 9 July 2008
- ^ a b Lille : en colère, le fondateur d'Auchan s'invite chez les communistes, Le Figaro, 22 February 2015
- ^ "Archived copy". www.swissbib.ch. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Suchergebnisse - dynamique du client". Swissbib.ch. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
