Jacques Guy Wertheimer (18 August 1911 – 6 February 1996) was a prominent French businessman who inherited and ran the renowned House of Chanel

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

company. Wertheimer was born at Les Forgettes villa in

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

, to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family,World's Richest Jews
''Jerusalem Post'' the son of Germaine Revel and businessman Pierre Wertheimer who co-founded the Chanel perfume business in 1924. On 26 March 1947, Jacques Wertheimer married Eliane Fischer (1925-2024), the daughter of an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. They had two sons, Alain and

Gérard Gérard (French language, French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is ...

. The marriage was short-lived, and after separating, their divorce decree was issued on 11 September 1952.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Jacques Wertheimer inherited a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

operation which he developed into one of the leading stables in France. Alec Head trained for the family until his retirement in 1984 but for a number of years continued to act as their bloodstock advisor. Head's daughter Criquette took over as trainer and continued to have great success. In the 1970s, Jacques Wertheimer boarded his Kentucky-based bloodstock at Hagyard Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Among his broodmares were the French classic winners Dancing Maid, Gold River and Pistol Packer. All three are buried at Hagyard Farm. Selected

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

race wins: * Coronation Stakes : Gold Splash (1993) * Critérium de Saint-Cloud : Poliglote (1994) *

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan languages, Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in :id:Molof, Senggi, Keerom, Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Stephen Wurm, Wurm (1975) placed it a ...

: Green Dancer (1975), Red Lord (1976), Green Tune (1994) * Poule d'Essai des Pouliches: Ivanjica (1975), Dancing Maid (1978) * Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe : Ivanjica (1976), Gold River (1981) * Prix de l'Opéra : Mona Stella (1987), Athyka (1988, 1989) * Prix de Diane : Reine de Saba (1978) *

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), ...

: Carwhite (1978), Green Tune (1995) * Prix du Jockey Club : Val de l'Orne (1975) * Prix Marcel Boussac : Gold Splash (1992) * Prix Royal-Oak : Gold River (1980), Agent Double (1984) * Prix Saint-Alary : Reine de Saba (1978), Rivière d'Or (1988) * Prix Vermeille : Ivanjica (1975), Dancing Maid (1978) On his death, his business empire was taken over by his two sons.

References

French businesspeople in fashion 1911 births 1996 deaths Chanel people 20th-century French Jews French racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners People from Deauville 20th-century French businesspeople Sportspeople from Calvados (department) Jacques Wertheimer {{France-business-bio-stub