The French businessman Pierre-Édouard Stérin, founder of Smartbox experience gift boxes and one of the country’s wealthiest individuals, has opened a new front in the debate in France by asking to change the inheritance law to exclude his five children from his inheritance and donate his entire estate.
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“I would like to donate all my assets to philanthropic causes; I am in favor of everyone being able to do what they want with their wealth,” he stated yesterday during a video conference appearance before a French Senate committee investigating the financing of private political entities. Last year, Stérin already mentioned his idea of not leaving his children “a single cent” to prevent them from becoming “spoiled bourgeois” and to make them self-sufficient.
His objective clashes with current regulations, which oblige him to reserve approximately three-quarters of his assets for his descendants. Today, the businessman resides in Belgium for tax reasons.
“I am in favor of everyone being able to do what they want with their wealth,” the businessman defended before the senators
His request to reform inheritance laws now reopens an old debate in France about the balance between the protection of heirs and individual freedom to decide the fate of large fortunes. French legislation, partly inherited from the Napoleonic Code, contemplates the principle of forced heirship, a mechanism that protects children and limits the freedom of testators to decide the distribution of their assets. This is a formula extended in several European countries, although much more restrictive than that existing in systems of other first-world nations.
Stérin’s intervention took place within the framework of a parliamentary investigation into the influence of private financing on French political life. The businessman had already been involved in a controversy last year when he rejected a summons from the National Assembly, citing death threats and security risks.
Stérin, 52, has resided in Belgium for over a decade for tax reasons. In addition to his fortune, he has become a controversial figure in France due to his financial support for organizations and projects linked to conservative and far-right positions in the French political spectrum. Through his organization Pericles, he finances several initiatives designed to advance his agenda, which includes the fight against socialism, wokism, Islamism, and immigration. He has a second organization, Fonds du bien commun, focused on donations in culture, education, or disability.
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The billionaire stated that he wishes to contribute to a France that is “more right-wing, economically liberal, and conservative”
He defines himself as a person to the right of the far-right. His positions are even more radical than those of the National Rally, whose leaders, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, are leading the polls for next year’s presidential elections.
During the hearing, he defended particularly harsh stances on immigration, going so far as to state that he supports the expulsion of foreigners who have committed crimes, lack documentation, or remain unemployed for more than a year.
He refused to comment on his anti-abortion stance, which puts him at odds with Le Pen, who has supported women’s freedom to request it.
Stérin’s fortune was born from an initial investment of just 5.000 euros: today it exceeds 1.400 million
The magnate possesses an estimated fortune of 1.400 million euros, according to Bloomberg figures. His wealth originated from Smartbox, the company specializing in gift boxes and leisure experiences that he developed after acquiring a small franchise thanks to a contribution of 5.000 euros from his parents.
Through his holding company Otium, the businessman later expanded his investments into private equity and startups. Among his holdings is Hadrena, an operator of leisure centers. The group also owned Dossier, an American perfume brand inspired by luxury fragrances that markets its products at Walmart and online.
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