Paul-Louis Halley (; 16 September 1934 – 6 December 2003) was a French businessman who co-founded the retail company Promodès, which later merged with

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

. Much of his fortune came from his 11% stakeholding in Carrefour. He was estimated to have a fortune of £2.2bn, putting him at 104th on the ''

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 ...

'' World's Richest People list in 2003. He died in a plane crash in 2003. Paul-Louis Halley founded the retail company Promodès in 1961, along with his father and brother. The company merged with Carrefour in 1999, with Halley as the principal shareholder.

Death

He was killed in a Socata TBM 700 aircraft crash on 6 December 2003, during an approach to

Oxford Airport London Oxford Airport , formerly known as Kidlington Airport, is a privately owned airport located near Kidlington in Cherwell (district), Cherwell District, Oxfordshire, northwest by north of Oxford, from Central London. Despite its name th ...

. The plane went into an uncontrolled roll, killing Halley, his wife, and the pilot. The

Air Accidents Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident I ...

could find no cause for the crash. There were no technical problems with the plane, and investigators could only speculate that the pilot was distracted by a bird as he tried to land. The inquest into the death of Paul-Louis Halley took place in Oxford, England, in late October 2005.BBC News: 'Tycoon air death "was accidental"'
Retrieved 2009-10-18 A jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

References

1934 births 2003 deaths 20th-century French businesspeople French billionaires Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England People from Cherbourg-Octeville {{France-business-bio-stub Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2003