Jacqueline Desmarais, (September 20, 1928 – March 3, 2018) was a Canadian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

, and long-term supporter of music and opera.

Early life

She was born Jacqueline Maranger in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, Ontario, to Ernest Marenger and Albertine Thanase, on September 20, 1928.

Career

According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', Desmarais had a net worth of $4.2 billion in January 2015. She was a long-term supporter of music and opera in Canada, and head of the guild of the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

from 1989 to 1999. In 1997, she created a foundation in her name to support young opera singers.

Honours

* In 2011, Desmarais was awarded a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

from the French President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, who called her "a great friend to France and a great lady of the arts". * In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

's faculty of music. * In 2012, she was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. * In 2013, Desmarais was named an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In 2016, she was awarded a Companion of Quebec's

Order of Arts and Letters The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. * In 2016, Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital christened the Jacqueline Desmarais Pavilion.

Personal life

On September 8, 1953, at Notre-de-Dame-de-Grâce, Quebec, she wed the financier

Paul Desmarais Paul Guy Desmarais Sr. (4 January 1927 – 8 October 2013) was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion (as of March 2012), Desmarais was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the ...

(1927-2013), also a native of Sudbury. They had two sons: Paul Jr. and

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

(who is married to Canadian former Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

's daughter

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and two daughters, Sophie and Louise.André et Paul Jr deviennent Officiers
, ''Québec Métro'', June 20, 2009. Jacqueline Desmarais lived on a 75-acre estate at Domaine Laforest à Sagard, Charlevoix, Quebec, until her death in 2018.

Death

Jacqueline Desmarais died on March 3, 2018, aged 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmarais, Jacqueline 1928 births 2018 deaths Canadian billionaires Female billionaires Canadian socialites Jacqueline Businesspeople from Greater Sudbury Businesspeople from Quebec Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Knights of the Legion of Honour