Xavier Niel

Xavier Niel
Born	(1967-08-25) August 25, 1967 Maisons-Alfort, France
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Known for	Founder and principal shareholder of Iliad; co-owner of Le Monde; owner of Monaco Telecom, Salt Mobile, Eir
Notable work	Founder of 42 coding school; co-founder of Kima Ventures; co-founder of Mediawan

Xavier Niel (; born 25 August 1967) is a French billionaire entrepreneur specializing in the telecommunications and technology sectors. He is the founder and principal shareholder of Iliad, a major French Internet service provider and mobile operator that operates under the Free brand, ranking as France's second-largest internet provider and third in mobile services. Niel also holds co-ownership of the newspaper Le Monde, possesses the rights to the song "My Way", and owns companies such as Monaco Telecom, Salt Mobile, and Eir. In addition to his role as chairman and chief strategy officer at Iliad, he serves on the boards of KKR, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and ByteDance.

As of July 2025, his estimated net worth stands at approximately US$12 billion.

Early life

Born into a middle-income family, Xavier Niel’s father worked as a lawyer for a pharmaceutical company, while his mother was employed as an accountant. He attended the Catholic private school Saint-Michel-de-Picpus located in Paris’s 12th arrondissement of Paris.

Niel’s interest in telecommunications and data services began early; his entrepreneurial journey started after receiving a Sinclair ZX81 computer at age 15.

At 19, having left formal education, he launched and sold his initial business—a Minitel adult chat service. This venture made him a millionaire euros by the time he was 24.

During his late teenage years, Niel was investigated by authorities for hacking into Canal+ decoders. He has admitted that to avoid legal repercussions, he briefly engaged in espionage activities, including accessing telephone records of then-president François Mitterrand.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications ventures with Iliad

In 1995, Niel made an investment in France’s pioneering Internet service provider, World-NET, which was sold for €30 million prior to the dot-com bubble burst around 2000.

He founded Free in 1999, launching in 2002 an affordable broadband service priced at €29.99 per month that transformed the French market. Free became known for introducing the Freebox, France’s inaugural triple-play product combining internet, television, and telephone services.

Free Mobile entered the market in 2012 with a disruptive offer of unlimited voice calls, texts, and data at €19.99 monthly, significantly underpricing competitors.

Niel expanded Iliad internationally by launching Iliad Italia in 2018 with an unlimited plan priced at €5.99 per month.

In September 2020, Iliad acquired a controlling 96% interest in Polish mobile operator Play for €2.2 billion, gaining access to approximately 15 million subscribers.

Telecommunications through NJJ Holding

Via NJJ Capital in 2014, Niel purchased a 55% stake in Monaco Telecom from Cable & Wireless Communications for US$445 million. He broadened Monaco Telecom’s reach by acquiring MTN Cyprus (rebranded as Epic) in 2019 and Vodafone Malta (rebranded as Epic) in 2020.

That same year, NJJ Capital acquired Orange Switzerland for US$2.7 billion and rebranded it as Salt Mobile in 2015. In 2019, Salt divested 90% of its telecommunications towers to Cellnex for $800 million.

In April 2018, Niel obtained a majority stake (65%) in Irish telecom company Eir, which was previously state-owned.

Through NJJ Capital, he became the largest shareholder of Latin American telecom firm Millicom in 2023 and made two unsuccessful attempts to acquire full control in 2024.

In April 2024, NJJ secured regulatory clearance to purchase Ukrainian fixed-line telecom and pay-TV provider Datagroup-Volia along with mobile operator Lifecell in a transaction valued at $500 million.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

From 2020 onward, Niel progressively augmented his ownership in the real estate firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, holding a 25% share by 2024. The company has a global presence, operating throughout Europe—including France, Spain, the UK, and Germany—as well as in the United States, particularly in California with properties such as Westfield Topanga and Westfield Century City.

Press

Towards the end of 2010, Niel, together with Pierre Bergé and Matthieu Pigasse, secured a controlling interest in Groupe Le Monde, the publisher behind the daily Le Monde and magazines like l’Obs, Courrier International, and Télérama. In February 2020, Niel acquired full ownership of Groupe Nice-Matin through his personal holding company; this group publishes Nice-Matin, Var-Matin, and Monaco-Matin, and also owns an 11% share in La Provence. The following month, he purchased the daily newspaper France-Antilles, based in the French West Indies. By June 2020, Niel further diversified into specialized media by acquiring Paris-Turf, France’s premier horseracing publication.

Other investments

In March 2010, Niel co-established Kima Ventures with Jeremie Berrebi, a fund that annually invests in between 50 and 100 startups worldwide. By August 2014, Kima Ventures had financed 330 companies across 32 nations. Business Insider identified Niel and Berrebi among the world’s most prolific angel investors. Since 2015, Jean de La Rochebrochard has held the position of Managing Partner at the fund.

In 2013, Niel founded 42, a tuition-free coding school without traditional teachers, educating approximately 1,000 students each year. By 2021, this institution expanded to encompass 33 campuses internationally.

In June 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron was hosted by Niel at the opening of Station F, a Paris-based startup incubator recognized as the largest of its kind globally.

By April 2021, Niel had become the principal shareholder of Unieuro, Italy’s top retailer specializing in consumer electronics and household appliances with a network of 460 stores nationwide.

In April 2023, he joined a consortium of investors acquiring a 7.5% stake in Swiss asset management firm GAM.

In October 2023, Niel collaborated with Rodolphe Saadé, Eric Schmidt, and others to invest €200 million into artificial intelligence initiatives. This funding supported the acquisition of a supercomputer and led to the creation of Kyutai, an AI-focused research laboratory. Earlier that year, he also participated as a seed investor in AI startup Mistral AI.

Other activities

Niel was a member of the French advisory council Conseil national du numérique from 2011 to 2012.

In 2015, he co-founded Mediawan, an international media production and distribution company, alongside Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre-Antoine Capton.

In 2016, Niel inaugurated Art 42, a street-art gallery described as an "anti-museum," situated within the Paris campus of 42.

He joined the board of US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in March 2018 and was appointed as a director at ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, in September 2024.

His book published in 2024, titled An Urge to Make a Mess (co-authored with former Paris deputy mayor Jean-Louis Missika), was released by Groupe Flammarion.

Legal issues

In May 2004, Niel was formally charged and held for one month at La Santé Prison concerning accusations of procuring and the improper use of corporate funds linked to several sex shops in which he had ownership stakes. While the procuring allegations were dismissed in August 2005, he was subsequently sentenced in October 2006 to a two-year suspended prison term for the misappropriation of company assets.

Wealth and assets

Forbes listed Niel as the 129th richest person worldwide in 2016, estimating his fortune at $9.7 billion (around nine billion euros). In 2014, Challenges ranked him as France’s ninth wealthiest individual, with Forbes placing him seventh in 2016.

By 2019, Forbes positioned him at 18th among France’s richest, with a net worth of €3.6 billion, reflecting a notable decline attributed to an unfavorable stock market performance. Challenges reported his family wealth at €9 billion in July 2020. That same year, his net worth rebounded significantly, earning him the 253rd spot globally on Forbes’ list and reaffirming his status among France’s top billionaires.

As of April 3, 2025, Forbes estimates Niel’s net worth at $10.7 billion, ranking him as the 235th wealthiest person worldwide.

Accolades

In August 2015, Wired recognized him as the seventh most impactful figure in global technology. Two years later, in February 2017, Vanity Fair named him the most influential French individual internationally. In 2022, Niel was honored with the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Private life

Niel’s partner is French entrepreneur Delphine Arnault, who serves as director and executive vice president at Louis Vuitton and CEO of Dior, and is the daughter of Bernard Arnault. Together they have two children: Élisa (born 2012) and Joseph (born 2016). Additionally, Niel has two sons from an earlier relationship. The family lives in Paris’ 16th arrondissement.

Since 2013, Niel has owned a luxury five-star hotel located in the French ski resort town of Courchevel. In 2016, he purchased the historic Hôtel Lambert on Paris’ Île Saint-Louis for over $226 million, reportedly intended to house his cultural foundation’s headquarters.