Xavier Niel

Xavier Niel (born 25 August 1967) is a French businessman. He is involved in the telecommunications and technology industry and is the founder and majority shareholder of the French Internet service provider and mobile operator Iliad trading under the Free brand (France's second-largest ISP, and third mobile operator). He is also co-owner of the newspaper Le Monde, co-owner of the rights of the song "My Way" and owner of Monaco Telecom, Salt Mobile SA and Eir. He is chairman and chief strategy officer for Iliad, but also a board member of KKR and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. As of August 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$10.5 billion. Early life and education Xavier Niel was born into a middle class family; his father is a lawyer for a pharmaceutical laboratory, and his mother is an accountant. He studied in the 12th arrondissement of Paris at the Saint-Michel-de-Picpus Catholic private high school. Niel started early by developing telecommunication and data services and embarked at a young age on an entrepreneurial career soon after his father gave him a Sinclair ZX81 computer as a Christmas present when he was 15.