Pier‍re Falcone (born 19 March 1954 in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

) is a French serial entrepreneur and businessman. He is the Chairman of Pierson Capital Group.

Early life

Falcone was born the son of Pierre Falcone senior in Algeria, who created ''Papa Falcone'', a "fully integrated operation" in the fish industry in Algeria. Falcone and his parents moved to France when he was eight years old 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; ; formally incorporated as ) is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, petitioned the Pisan Antipope Alexan ...

from 1973 to 1975.

‍Career‍

Falcone moved to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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 in the following years which led him to represent several French and Chinese companies in countries such as Brazil or Mexico. Falcone moved in 1988 to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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 Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...

as well as the involvement of Aerospatiale in the making of the first Chinese communication satellite. In 1993, Falcone negotiated financing for the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...

government of Angola during its civil war against

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...

. 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 Van-Dúnem dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was an Angolan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of th ...

'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 time in a French prison. The appeals court acknowledged that Falcone had been officially mandated by the

Angolan government The Cabinet of Angola is the chief executive body of the Republic of Angola. References External links governo.gov.ao (in Portuguese) {{Authority control Cabinet Angolan ministers Ministers Angola Angola, officially the R ...

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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Private life

Pierre Falcone is married to former

Miss Bolivia The Miss Bolivia is a national beauty pageant in Bolivia. The pageant was founded in 1930, and the first winner, Rosa Pizarro Araoz of Tarija, was sent to compete in Miss Latin America held in Miami, United States. History The Miss Bolivia c ...

and artist Sonia Falcone. They have three children.

H‍onors

On June 17, 2013, the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

conferred him an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

for supporting 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 Businesspeople from Algiers Mitterrand–Pasqua affair French businesspeople Pieds-noirs French prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of France