Patrick Drahi

Born in Casablanca to a Jewish family, Patrick Drahi's parents were both mathematics teachers. At the age of 15, his family relocated to Montpellier, France. He pursued higher education, earning an engineering degree from the prestigious École Polytechnique university in Paris, followed by a post-graduate degree specializing in optics and electronics. Drahi's heritage includes descendants of Jews expelled from Portugal during the Portuguese Inquisition. He has held French, Moroccan, Portuguese, and Israeli citizenships, and since 1999, his tax domicile has been in Zermatt, Switzerland. As of November 2015, Forbes estimated Drahi's net worth at $10.3 billion, ranking him among the wealthiest individuals globally and as the third-richest person in France at that time. He was also recognized as the richest person in Israel until 2016. A significant business move occurred in June 2019 when his acquisition of the auction house Sotheby's was announced, purchased at a 61% market premium. In September 2020, Drahi made an offer of €2.5 billion to minority shareholders of Altice, aiming to take the company private. By March 5, 2021, Forbes listed his net worth at US$11.7 billion, placing him 248th on their Billionaires 2020 list.