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.
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.
-
The new 4% rule – how much should retirees really draw from their pension in 2026?Brits retiring in 2026 could be withdrawing too much from their pension pots if they stick to an old rule about ‘safe’ limits – with the risk of running out of money in retirement
-
Leaving it too late to gift inheritances costs some of Britain’s wealthiest families £3m eachEven average Brits are being landed with huge and unexpected inheritance tax bills because of a little understood rule around gifting, new figures show
-
Big Short investor Michael Burry closes hedge fund Scion CapitalProfile Michael Burry rightly bet against the US mortgage market before the 2008 crisis. Now he is worried about the AI boom
-
The global defence boom has moved beyond Europe – here’s how to profitOpinion Tom Bailey, head of research for the Future of Defence Indo-Pac ex-China UCITS ETF, picks three defence stocks where he'd put his money
-
Profit from a return to the office with WorkspaceWorkspace is an unloved play on the real estate investment trust sector as demand for flexible office space rises
-
New frontiers: the future of cybersecurity and how to investMatthew Partridge reviews the key trends in the cybersecurity sector and how to profit
-
An “existential crisis” for investment trusts? We’ve heard it all before in the 70sOpinion Those fearing for the future of investment trusts should remember what happened 50 years ago, says Max King
-
8 of the best properties for sale with wildlife pondsThe best properties for sale with wildlife ponds – from a 16th-century house in the Ashdown Forest, to a property on Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills
-
Why a copper crunch is loomingMiners are not investing in new copper supply despite rising demand from electrification of the economy, says Cris Sholto Heaton
-
Where to look for Christmas gifts for collectors“Buy now” marketplaces are rich hunting grounds when it comes to buying Christmas gifts for collectors, says Chris Carter
