Pierre Falcone (born 19 March 1954 in Algiers) is a French businessman. He is the Chairman of Pierson Capital Group.

Early life

Falcone is the son of Pierre Falcone senior, who created ''Papa Falcone'', a fully integrated operation in the fish industry in Algeria. Born in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, Falcone and his parents moved to France when he was eight years old. His parents moved from Algeria along with other French citizens when the country became independent in 1962. Falcone studied law and economics at the

University of Aix-en-Provence Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

from 1973 to 1975.

Career

Falcone moved to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1977 at the age of 24; he soon started a business in trading agricultural products. He developed a wide portfolio of clients and partners throughout

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

in the following years which led him to represent several French and Chinese companies in countries such as Brazil or

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Pierre Falcone sur le chantier à Kilamba

Falcone moved in 1988 to China, where he later founded and headquartered his company ''Pierson Capital Asia''. He started his Chinese operations with consulting services for leading European companies looking to establish themselves in China. He negotiated the first insurance authorization granted by China to a Western company for French giant AXA as well as the involvement of Aerospatiale in the making of the first Chinese communication satellite. In 1993, Pierre Falcone negotiated financing for the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, Abbreviation, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wi ...

government of Angola during its civil war against

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

. This financing was achieved in exchange for the future oil production of Angola for French interests. The subsequent delivery of weapons to support

José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for ...

's Angolan government led to a trial known as Angolagate in France. In 2011, the charges against Falcone were dropped by an appeals court after he had served half of his sentence in a French prison. The appeals court acknowledged that Falcone had been officially mandated by the Angolan government to acquire arms as well as food and medicine. The company he heads, Pierson Capital Group, invests in hotels, real estate developments, agriculture and agroindustrial projects, oil, gas, and personal authentication systems. Pierson Capital Group and has over 2600 employees and three main operations in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

, and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

Private life

Pierre Falcone is married to former Miss Bolivia and artist

Sonia Falcone Sonia Falcone, born March 27, 1965, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, is a Bolivian artist known for her painting and installation work. She currently resides in Mexico and is a naturalized Mexican citizen. Early life At an early age Falcone ...

. They have three children.

Honors

On June 17, 2013, Pierre Falcone was conferred honorary doctor of philosophy degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for being a supporter of brain sciences.Seventy-sixth Board of Governors meeting commences with Convocation, awarding of honorary degrees
, ''The Hebrew University of Jerusalem'', June 2013

References

External links

Chairman Statement by Pierre Falcone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falcone, Pierre 1954 births Living people People from Algiers Mitterrand–Pasqua affair French businesspeople Pieds-Noirs French prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of France