Pierre-Édouard Stérin

Contents

Pierre-Édouard Robert Raymond Marie-Joseph Stérin (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ edwaʁ ʁɔbɛʁ ʁemɔ̃ maʁi ʒɔzɛf steʁɛ̃]; born 3 January 1974, Évreux) is a French entrepreneur, billionaire and conservative activist. He is the cofounder of the gift card company Smartbox, the investment fund Otium Capital, and the philanthropic organization Fondation du Bien Commun.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

Stérin grew up in Normandy in a middle-class family.[5] His father is a chartered accountant and his mother works at a bank.[6] He attended the Lycée Aristide-Briand in Évreux, in the economics stream.[7]

Career

In 2023, Stérin made an unsuccessful joint bid with Daniel Křetínský and Stéphane Courbit for about 37% of Vivendi's publishing division Editis.[8] In 2025, he was part of a consortium that agreed to buy right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles.[9]

In 2023, he and François Durvye co-invested €2.5 million to buy Jean-Marie Le Pen's family house in Paris.[5] In 2025, his fortune was estimated at around 1.3 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars).[10]

Political activities

Stérin is close to traditionalist Catholicism.[11] In 2024, he launched the Périclès project, an initiative to strengthen right-wing policies in France.[5] Together with the media entrepreneur and billionaire Vincent Bolloré, he organized the "Summit of Freedoms" ("sommet des libertés") in 2025. At the summit, media makers brought together conservative and right-wing politicians.[12]

Personal life

Stérin is married and has five children.[12] Since 2012, he has lived in Belgium for tax reasons and justifies his move as follows: "I am very critical of the government. So many freedoms are being curtailed, and all the taxes imposed on us are being misused."[12]

References

  1. 1."Pierre-Édouard Stérin ou la quête du Graal". Le Figaro (in French). 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  2. 2.des Déserts, Sophie. "Pierre-Edouard Stérin, le drôle d'allié catho de Montebourg et Bolloré". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  3. 3."Qui est Pierre-Edouard Stérin, ce milliardaire catholique candidat au rachat de « Marianne » ?" (in French). 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  4. 4."Plan "Périclès" : ce que l'on sait du projet du milliardaire catholique Pierre-Edouard Stérin pour promouvoir des valeurs conservatrices et faire gagner la droite aux élections". Franceinfo (in French). 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  5. 5.[5.2][5.3]Solletty, Marion; Paillou, Sarah (28 April 2025). "The billionaire who wants to Make France Great Again". Politico Europe.
  6. 6."Pierre-Édouard Stérin, au nom du bien commun". Le Figaro (in French). February 23, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  7. 7."Smartbox : un coffret plein de succès". Paris Normandie (in French). January 24, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  8. 8.Mathieu Rosemain and Diana Mandia (8 March 2023), Vivendi hits antitrust hurdles in quest for Lagardere Reuters.
  9. 9.Sudip Kar-Gupta (26 September 2025), French billionaire Sterin part of group buying right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles Reuters.
  10. 10.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-29/right-wing-billionaire-sterin-aims-to-remodel-france-s-politics-become-saint
  11. 11."The billionaire who wants to Make France Great Again". Politico. April 28, 2025.
  12. 12.[12.2][12.3]Borutta, Julia. "Die Macht der rechten Meinungsmacher in Frankreich". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-29.