When conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin caught the eye of Le Monde last year, the newspaper noted how stealthily he was “advancing his pawns” in the chess game of hard-right French politics. A tax exile based in Belgium, Stérin had just been outed as the financial force and guiding spirit behind Pericles, “a secret, wide-ranging project aimed at boosting right-wing forces” and restoring “France’s grandeur”, to quote Politico. The timely leaking of internal documents – in which the shady group vowed to achieve “the successful exercise of power at the earliest opportunity” – caused a sensation in France, unleashing a potent mix of conspiracy theory and patriotic debate. The country’s current political chaos provides ample opportunity for a re-run.
Stérin is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to revive France with his bespoke prescription of retro Catholic morality, dry economics and a hardline “re-migration” message that even Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party dubs “toxic”, says The Times. He has spent hundreds of millions of euros at the grassroots, with education a key target. In addition to ridding France of “the woke insanity imported from American universities”, he’s planning “a network of Christian private schools”. He’s also an investor in Studio 496, whose mission is to conserve the heritage of “La France profonde” by sponsoring activities such as village fetes. More overtly political projects include a Parisian think tank and a training college for would-be candidates.
Some call “the billionaire who wants to make France great again” the country’s Elon Musk. In truth, he’s more “eminence grise” – happiest pulling strings from the shadows, says Politico. A self-described introvert, with “a tendency for extreme rationalism”, Stérin famously ranks new acquaintances on a scale of one to ten on a dedicated Excel spreadsheet. His wife Amandine wasn’t exempt. He scored her on a strict set of marriageability criteria before popping the question. Fortunately, she delivered – quite literally: bearing her “pronatalist” husband a fine family of five. He’s raising them on tough love, telling the French financial weekly Challenges that they won’t inherit anything. “It’s a real freedom to start with nothing in life.”
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Stérin, 51, grew up in a middle-class family in Evreux, a town in Normandy, where he began his career as an entrepreneur at the age of 13, selling RAM sticks for video games, says The Times. He launched 20 failed businesses before striking gold. Smartbox, a gift-box provider specialising in short breaks, proved hugely popular and established his financial clout. These days his investment firm, Otium Capital, has assets ranging from tech to health.
Stérin has donated generously to Le Pen’s party, but says he is keeping his options open – viewing the popularist Rally party as too wedded to the state in its “dirigiste” economic thinking and too liberal on social matters such as abortion. Nonetheless, the links run deep, says Politico. The CEO of Stérin’s Otium fund, François Durvye, is also “a member of Marine Le Pen’s inner circle and one of her most trusted advisers”.
Pierre-Édouard Stérin is reaching for heaven
By US standards, Stérin’s wealth – he is said to be worth €1.6 billion – and political largesse look trivial. But the rules on political donations in France are much tighter, and he has been in the crosshairs of prosecutors. Stérin is now in the frustrating position of being a wealthy backer in search of a candidate. But for the moment, he is attending to his soul. “By giving away my fortune… I am optimising my chances of eternal life,” he told Catholic daily La Croix. Typically, he’s researched the process thoroughly. “I typed on Google: how to become a saint.” It is “an ultra-motivating stimulus to get up in the morning”.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
-
Investors have overlooked emerging markets' top innovatorsOpinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growthPinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
Global investors have overlooked the top innovators in emerging markets
Opinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
Investors should cheer the coming nuclear summerThe US and UK have agreed a groundbreaking deal on nuclear power, and the sector is seeing a surge in interest from around the world. Here's how you can profit
-
8 of the best houses for sale with folliesThe best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
A tale of two Reits – why performance matters for valuationAEW UK and Regional are two Reits that are valued very differently, despite a shared focus on properties outside London
-
Healthcare stocks look cheap, but tread carefullyShares in healthcare companies could get a shot in the arm if uncertainty over policy in the US wanes, but are they worth the risk?
-
The Palace of Westminster is falling downThe Palace of Westminster is in need of repair, but the bill is prohibitive, says Simon Wilson
