Inside The Life of Franois-Henri Pinault as Salma Hayek's Husband

July 2024 · 8 minute read

Francois-Henri Pinault is the husband of Salma Hayek, the Mexican-American actress and film producer. They met in 2006 and got married in 2009, and have remained together to date.

Francois is not the type of individual that would always be in the news but being married to a popular actress such as Slama Hayek put him right in that position. He is a French entrepreneur; the CEO of luxury goods holding company Kering and the owner of Groupe Artemis, a French holding company, among others. His billionaire status added to his marriage to a popular actress has brought him a lot of media attention.

Francois-Henri Pinault’s Biography Summary

Francois-Henri Pinault is a French Man Born 61 Years Ago

Francois-Henri Pinault was born on the 28th of May 1962 in Rennes, France to Francois Pinault and Louise Gautier. There is very little information about his childhood and that means that there was no information about his schooling at that age. The only information that was revealed about his early education was that he attended the prestigious HEC School of Management which is a business school located in Paris, France.

To gather experience in the business field, Francois-Henri went ahead to do his internship at Hewlett-Packard as a software developer in Paris, France. Upon his graduation from HEC School of Management in 1985, he enrolled to do his military service at the French Consulate, Los Angeles, USA. During his service period, he was placed in charge of studying new technology sectors and fashion.

He Began His Career in His Father’s Company

Despite the fact that Francois-Henri Pinault was born into wealth, he did well in starting from the lower cadre in his father’s company. He joined PPR (formerly Pinault Distribution) in 1987 and became the manager of the buying department. He worked hard in another company and later rose to the position of head manager of France Bois Industries in 1989 and later head manager of PPR in 1990.

The company evolved from what it used to be in its early days to become global in the 90s. Francois-Henri also became all the better for it as he rose to become the president of the multinational industrial products distribution company known as Compagnie Francaise de l’Afrique Occidentale (CFAO) in 1993. That was a massive achievement in such a short time for the young entrepreneur.

His Diversification of PPR Brought Him Enormous Wealth

In 1997, François-Henri Pinault rose to the position of the CEO of the French retail chain company, Fnac. He then proceeded to work in diversifying the investment of PPR’s retail industry to focus on managing luxury brands. His role was vital as PPR became a major player in the luxury goods industry. In 1999, Francois-Henri worked to expand their business by acquiring the Gucci Group IV which saw him acquiring many more fashion brands such as Saint Laurent Paris, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Stella McCartney.

In 2000, he founded the Electronic Business Group and further rose in PPR to become the vice-president in May 2003. By 2005, he became the Chairman and CEO. Francois-Henri Pinault later started serving as the president of Groupe Artemis, a French holding company that controls their family assets. This put him in control of the French club Stade Rennais F.C, French magazine Le Point, British auction house Christie’s, and a bunch of other businesses.

Summary List of Positions François-Henri Pinault Has Held

Francois-Henri Met His Wife Salma Hayek in Venice, Italy in 2006

After his divorce from his first wife Dorothee Lepere, Francois-Henri met popular Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek. Hayek began her acting career in Mexico and starred in several roles in telenovela Teresa and El Callejon de Los Milagros for which she received an Ariel Award for her performance. This earned her recognition in Hollywood and soon enough she established herself as a great actor. She has bagged several award nominations for her ingenuity at acting and is very famous.

François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek are reported to have met in 2006 at a gala in Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy. The pair did not reveal what their first meeting was like although Salma Hayek did call it “a Romantic” one. Soon after, the couple became an item and stayed glued to each other until 2007 when they announced their engagement shortly after they shared the news that they were expecting their first child.

They Exchanged Vows on February 14th, 2009

Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek decided to tie the knot on valentine’s day in 2009. This happened after the couple welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Vincent Paloma in September 2007. Francois-Henri has remained faithfully married to his wife and was already well known before they got married. Therefore, no one can say that his marriage to the star actress was what primarily made him popular as he was already a billionaire himself.

As of February this year, Francois-Henri Pinault has been married for 14 years. The couple renewed their vows in August 2018 in a ceremony that was attended by friends and family. Their love has been growing strong and there has not been any sort of controversy trailing them.

Francois-Henri was Previously Married and Involved in a Paternity Case Before Meeting Salma

Francois-Henri met and married Dorothee Lepere in 1996. The couple had a fruitful marriage that produced two beautiful children; a son named Francois Pinault born in 1998 and a daughter named Mathilde born in 2001. Unfortunately, their marriage ended in 2004 when they divorced.

After the divorce from his first wife, Francois-Henri Pinault found himself at the center of a paternity case concerning his fling with supermodel Linda Evangelista. The model filed a case in June 2011 of non-payment of child support against the billionaire for their son Augustine James born on October 11, 2006. The controversy lingered for a while in court until they settled the case on May 7, 2012.

Meet Francois-Henri and Salma Hayek’s Four Children

Aside from the beautiful daughter they share between them, Salma Hayek also adopted Francois-Henri’s other children as her own and has spoken about it on many occasions, claiming them as her children.

1. Francois Pinault

François Pinault is the first child of the billionaire and his first wife Dorothee. He reportedly lives in Paris, France with his mother. However, unlike his father and to a large extent his siblings, Francois keeps a low media presence as almost nothing is known about him.

2. Mathilde Pinault

Mathilde Pinault is the second child and only daughter of François-Henri Pinault and Dorothée Lepère. She is carving out a career for herself as an Instagram model, social media influencer, and showjumper.

As a model, she has modeled for the fashion brand Miasuki in the past and as a showjumper, Mathilde has competed in showjumping events like The Longines Global Champion Tours and Longines Masters. Unlike her brother who lives in Paris with their mother, Mathilde reportedly lives in London where she is pursuing her career.

3. Augustin James Evangelista

Augustin James Evangelista is the son Linda Evangelista and François-Henri Pinault share between them. Though he was born to famous parents, Augustin has been raised away from the glare of the media with almost nothing known about him. However, Salma in 2021 shared a photo of herself with Augustin and Linda commented with two heart emojis.

4. Valentina Paloma Pinault

Valentina Paloma Pinault is the youngest child of Francois-Henri Pinault and the only child whom he shares with Salma Hayek. She was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is getting as much media attention as her parents, possibly more than her stepsiblings. She has also made a couple of red carpet appearances with her mother one of which was the premiere of “Eternals” in 2021.

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