Gérard C. Louis-Dreyfus (21 June 1932 – 16 September 2016), also known as William, was a French-American businessman. His
net worth was estimated at $3.4 billion by ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' in 2006. He was the chairman of
Louis Dreyfus Energy Services and the great grandson of
Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, founder of
Louis Dreyfus Group. He was the father of actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
.
Life and career
Louis-Dreyfus was born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1932.
[Legal Eagle: PORGES v. LOUIS-DREYFUS, 280 A.D. 277 (1952)]
Dolores N. Porges, Appellant-Respondent, v. Guy P. Louis-Dreyfus, Respondent-Appellant, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department. June 3, 1952 His great-grandfather
Léopold Louis-Dreyfus founded the
Louis Dreyfus Group in 1851. His mother, Dolores Porges (née Neubauer; 1905–1987), was American-born,
[ the daughter of a Brazilian father and a Mexican mother. His father, ]Pierre Louis-Dreyfus
Pierre Louis-Dreyfus (17 May 1908 – 15 January 2011) was a French Resistance fighter during World War II who later served as CEO of the Louis Dreyfus Cie.
Early life and education
Pierre Louis-Dreyfus was born on 17 May 1908 in Paris, one of ...
, (1908–2011), was a Frenchman
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially th ...
who headed the Louis Dreyfus group. His father, who was Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, fought in the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
; his mother was Catholic. He has one sister, Dominique Cornwell. In 1940, Louis-Dreyfus moved to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
with his mother after her divorce from Pierre. By 1945, he had adopted the name William as a symbol of his integration into American society.
After graduating from Duke University and Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit t ...
, Louis-Dreyfus worked at the law firm of Dewey Ballantine
Dewey Ballantine LLP was a corporate law firm headquartered in New York City. In 2007, Dewey Ballantine merged with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae to form Dewey & LeBoeuf. Dewey Ballantine underwent numerous name changes throughout its history a ...
, New York, before joining Louis Dreyfus in 1965.
Louis-Dreyfus was chairman of the Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...
from 1998 to 2008. He had poems published in publications such as The Hudson Review
''The Hudson Review'' is a quarterly journal of literature and the arts.
History
It was founded in 1947 in New York, by William Arrowsmith, Joseph Deericks Bennett, and George Frederick Morgan. The first issue was introduced in the spring of 194 ...
. Louis-Dreyfus died at his home in Mount Kisco, New York on 16 September 2016 at the age of 84. His daughter Julia dedicated her 2016 Emmy win to her late father.
Politics
In October 2012, Dreyfus published a full page ad in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' titled "A Call To Arms To The Wealthy To Protect The Right To Vote" encouraging wealthy people in the United States to fight voter suppression. Dreyfus himself donated $1 million.
Personal life
Louis-Dreyfus was married twice.[New York Times: "GERARD LOUIS-DREYFUS (1932 - 2016)"]
September 25, 2016 In 1955, he married Judith LeFever; they had one daughter, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
(born January 1961) before divorcing in 1962.
In 1965, he married Phyllis Blankenship; they had two daughters, both social workers: Phoebe Émilie Dominique Louis-Dreyfus Eavis (born May 1968) and Emma R. Louis-Dreyfus (born on 16 June 1974; died on 13 August 2018). In 1996, Phoebe married English financial journalist Peter Eavis at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Bedford, New York.Talking Biz News: "Ex-WSJer Eavis to join NYT" by Chris Roush
November 28, 2011 He also had a son, Raphael Penteado.
One cousin is Jean Louis-Dreyfus, grandson of the family business founder, Léopold Louis-Dreyfus. Another cousin is
Robert Louis-Dreyfus
Robert Louis-Dreyfus ( – ) was a French businessman who was chief executive officer (CEO) of Adidas (then, "Adidas Salomon") and Saatchi & Saatchi. He was a majority shareholder of the French football team Olympique de Marseille, and durin ...
, the former chief executive officer of
Adidas and ex-Chairman of French football club
Olympique de Marseille.
See also
*
List of billionaires
''The World's Billionaires'' is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine ''Forbes''. The list was first published in March ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis-Dreyfus, Gerard
1932 births
2016 deaths
American billionaires
American investors
American people of French-Jewish descent
Duke University School of Law alumni
French billionaires
French emigrants to the United States
Gerard Louis-Dreyfus
20th-century French Jews
Duke University alumni