François-Henri Pinault, Salma Hayek's Husband, Is Behind Some of Fashion's Biggest Names

From Oprah Magazine

• François-Henri Pinault is a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, as well as the husband of actress Salma Hayek.

• Pinault is CEO and chairman of luxury fashion conglomerate Kering, which owns brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen.

• Here’s everything we know about Pinault.

Salma Hayek, 52, and François-Henri Pinault, 57, have been together for over a decade, and regularly steal the show at every red carpet they hit. Hayek is known for her roles in movies like Dogma, From Dusk Til Dawn, Grown Ups, Beatriz at Dinner, and The Hitman's Bodyguard, as well as her Oscar-nominated turn in Frida, but who is the man who has been by her side since 2007? Pinault is the CEO and chairman of luxury fashion group Kering as well as the president of holding company Groupe Artémis. He comes from a prominent French family, reportedly worth $34.8 billion (that's with a B, Billion) according to Forbes. Not too shabby, right?

He's also the father of four, including one child with Hayek, and his philanthropy and sizable charity donations are notable. Still curious? Here's everything we know about Pinault.

Okay, so he's a billionaire, but what does he own?

Pinault took over as CEO of what was then-known as PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute) from his father, François Pinault, in 2005, and moved the brand into luxury goods. Pinault renamed PPR to Kering in 2013. Kering is behind some major names like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Boucheron, and Pomellato. He is also the president of Groupe Artémis, the holding company that controls the assets of the Pinault family. Groupe Artémis owns the luxury auction house Christie's, French winery Château Latour, Stade Rennais F.C., and Paris's Théâtre Marigny, amongst others.

Pinault's father, François, is one of the wealthiest people in the world, landing at #23 on the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index. The Pinault family also own weekly magazine Le Point, part of the newspaper Le Monde, as well as the French television network TF-1.

Hayek and Pinault are mum about their relationship.

Hayek and Pinault met in spring 2006 at a gala at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, but don't ask Hayek more details than that. In an interview with Town & Country she shared, "It's such a romantic, amazing story, but it is mine. I don't want to vulgarize it by making it into a story to make myself interesting." The pair announced their engagement at the same time they shared the news of Hayek's pregnancy in March 2007, and they got married twice—once in a city hall ceremony in Paris on Valentine's Day, and for a second time in a star-studded affair in Venice, Italy.

Tell us about his kids.

Pinault was previously married, and has two children from that marriage: Son François and daughter Mathilde. He was at one time linked to Nicole Kidman, but in October 2006, welcomed a child with supermodel Linda Evangelista, Augustin James Evangelista. Pinault's daughter with Hayek, Valentina Paloma, was born in September 2007.

He doesn't just own fashion companies, he knows his fashion.

Pinault had a huge hand in the transition of legendary fashion brand Balenciaga after Nicolas Ghesquière stepped down as Creative Director and Hedi Slimane took over for Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent.

“Nicolas built Balenciaga over 15 years—he reanimated it. He projected an absolutely incredible modernity onto a traditional brand. But there comes a time, often when a brand has matured, when it needs to broaden its scope and its artistic vocabulary and that’s when you need to ask yourself if it’s time for something else,” Pinault told The New York Times in 2013.

He's a huge donor to the Notre Dame Cathedral restoration efforts.

In April, after the tragic fall of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Pinault pledged €100 million (over US $113 million) to help with the church's reconstruction. In a statement obtained by French newspaper Le Figaro, Pinault promised: “My father (François Pinault) and myself have decided to release a sum of €100 million from our Artemis funds (the family holding company) to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre-Dame.”

This isn't Pinault's only philanthropic endeavor: In 2008, he founded the Kering Foundation, which helps promote and defend women's rights, and in 2019, French president Emmanuel Macron chose him to create a coalition of fashion brands that are dedicated to creating and growing sustainable models for the fashion industry.

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