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

(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.

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

Life and career

Politics

Personal life

See also

References