Gérard Mulliez
Born (1931-05-13) 13 May 1931
Roubaix, France
NationalityFrench
Known forFounder, Auchan
Spousemarried
Children3
Parent(s)Gérard Mulliez, Françoise Cavrois
RelativesLouis Mulliez-Lestienne (paternal grandfather)
Louis Mulliez (paternal uncle) Michel Leclercq (cousin)

Gérard Paul Louis Marie-Joseph Mulliez (born 13 May 1931) is a French entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Auchan chain of department stores.

Early life

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 had reportedly bad grades at school.[1] He spent a year in England, where he learned to play rugby and pool, and learned to speak English.[1] He failed his Baccalaureate.[1][2]

Career

Mulliez started his career working for his father's company, working his way up until he became its Chairman.[1][2]

In 1961, at the age of twenty-nine, after witnessing department stores on 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 as well as a diverse mix of other retail chains such as Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, Saint Maclou, Kiloutou, Kiabi, Flunch, etc.[4] It is co-owned between a thousand family members.[4] Six hundred of his cousins are millionaires as a result.[2]

In 2004, he was the recipient of the Légion d'honneur.[5]

In 2022, retailers founded or part-owned by Gérard Mulliez, including Auchan, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin, have been criticized for refusing to pull out from the Russian market as a result of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine[6] and even supporting the invasion through its Russian subsidiary [7]

Wealth

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[8] making him the first richest person in France.[4][9][10] According to Capital, the Mulliez family was the richest family in France in 2014.[11] According to Hurun Report, he is 18th richest person in the world with a net worth of US$30 billion.[12] Some of his family members reside in Néchin, Belgium.[1][2]

He has revealed that he has also spent less than he earns,[13] 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.[9][14] 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.[9][14]

Personal life

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

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Marie Bordet, Gérard Mulliez se confie enfin, Le Point, 12 July 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Qui est Gérard Mulliez, troisième fortune de France et (discret) fondateur d'Auchan ?, Sud Ouest, 23 February 2015
  3. 1 2 Carol Matlack, 'Gerard Mulliez' Auchan: France's Wal-Mart Goes Global', in BusinessWeek, 10 December 2009
  4. 1 2 3 Gérard Mulliez et sa famille, Challenges Magazine
  5. ↑ "Biographie de Gérard Mulliez Auchan". Edubourse.com. 13 May 1931. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Gill, Oliver (20 March 2022). "Business as usual for the French firms ignoring Russia boycott". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "Vidéo. Video investigation: How a French company is supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Le classement des 10 premières fortunes de France - Capital". Photo.capital.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Le fondateur d'Auchan à des jeunes communistes : "À votre âge, j'avais déjà ouvert mon premier magasin", Sud-Ouest, 23 February 2015
  10. ↑ "Photo Gérard Mulliez". LeJDD.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Classement des 100 Français les plus riches en 2014 : les Mulliez, toujours en tête, France 3, 25 June 2014
  12. ↑ "胡润百富". Hurun.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Gérard Mulliez: "Toujours dépenser moins qu'on gagne", in L'Express, 9 July 2008
  14. 1 2 Lille : en colère, le fondateur d'Auchan s'invite chez les communistes, Le Figaro, 22 February 2015
  15. ↑ "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)
  16. ↑ "Suchergebnisse - dynamique du client". Swissbib.ch. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
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