Jean-Luc Lagardère

Jean-Luc Lagardère was a Supélec engineer. He began his career in Dassault Aviation. As CEO of Matra in the 1960s, he became famous with success in Formula One and Le Mans. He later built a large media and defense conglomerate that bears his name. He was a member of the Saint-Simon Foundation think-tank.

In 1981, with his friend Daniel Filipacchi, he purchased Hachette magazines, which included the French TV Guide (Tele 7 Jours), and the then-struggling Elle magazine. Elle was then launched in the U.S., followed by 25 foreign editions. Filipacchi and Lagardère then expanded Hachette Filipacchi Magazines in the U.S. with the purchase of Diamandis Communications Inc. (formerly CBS magazines), including Woman's Day, Car and Driver, Road and Track, Flying, Boating, and many others.

Despite setbacks, such as the costly failure of La Cinq TV channel, he led significant mergers that established EADS, today major global aerospace contractor Airbus. He handed over control of his businesses to his son Arnaud in 2001, under whom the Lagardère Group continued to thrive. Jean-Luc Lagardère's contributions were praised by President Jacques Chirac, highlighting his visionary leadership and commitment to European integration.

He first married Corinne Lagardère. They had one son, Arnaud. After his divorce, he married Betty Lagardère, whose birth name is Elisabeth Pimenta Lucas, a socialite and former Brazilian model who settled in France.