Gérard Wertheimer

Gérard Wertheimer
Born	9 1 1951 (age 75 years old (as of 2026) ) (Forbes)
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Co-owner of Chanel
Children	2 (Forbes)

French businessman; co-owner of the fashion and luxury house Chanel and head of its watch division

Gérard Wertheimer (born 1951; listed by Forbes as Gerard Wertheimer) is a French businessman who owns the luxury house Chanel with his brother Alain Wertheimer. Forbes says he heads Chanel's watch division.^[1]^[2] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Gérard Wertheimer 52nd in the world (tied with his brother Alain Wertheimer), with an estimated net worth of US$39.4 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Chanel.^[1]^[3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Gérard Wertheimer 49th, at US$39.4 billion.^[4]

Family background

Forbes says Gérard Wertheimer's grandfather, Pierre Wertheimer, went into partnership in the 1920s with Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the designer whose name the house carries.^[1] AP describes Pierre as a co-founder of Chanel.^[5] Paris-Turf names the brothers' father as Jacques Wertheimer.^[6] Forbes records his date of birth as 9 January 1951. It lists him as married with two children and says he lives in Switzerland.^[1]

Business career

Forbes describes Gérard as co-owner of Chanel with his brother and as head of the company's watch division. It also records that Karl Lagerfeld, the long-serving creative director and public face of Chanel, died in 2019.^[1] His brother Alain is the group's global executive chairman.^[5] The UK register of Chanel Limited's officers shows Alain, but not Gérard, as a current director.^[7]

Chanel

Chanel, known for its No. 5 perfume and tweed suits, reported 2025 revenue of US$19.3 billion, according to an AFP report published by Boursorama. Net profit fell 14.3% to US$2.9 billion, and operating profit rose 5.2% to US$4.7 billion. Asia-Pacific remained its largest region, at US$9.2 billion. AFP described the company as owned by the Wertheimer brothers and as one of the few independent houses left in fashion and luxury.^[2] The group's parent, Chanel Limited, is registered in England (company number 00203669). Its 2025 annual report, filed at Companies House in June 2026, says the directors recommended a final dividend of £2.43 billion for 2025.^[8]^[9] Since 29 July 2016 the company has filed a statement that it knows of no registrable "person with significant control" under UK rules. The public register therefore does not name the ultimate owners.^[10]

Horse racing and other interests

The brothers own the racing and breeding operation Wertheimer & Frère. France Galop, the French racing authority, describes it as belonging to the owners of Chanel and as one of the great historic owner-breeders in European flat racing. The stable won the Prix du Jockey Club with Roi Lear (1973), Val de l'Orne (1975) and Intello (2013).^[11] Paris-Turf wrote in 2013 that Alain and Gérard are the third generation in the business, following their grandparents Pierre Wertheimer and his wife and their father Jacques. It noted that Pierre's horse Lavandin won the Epsom Derby in 1956, and that the operation then had 113 broodmares.^[6] According to Forbes, their horses have won the French Derby and the Breeders' Cup Turf, and the brothers own vineyards in France and in Napa Valley, California.^[1]

Wealth

Forbes gives Chanel as the source of his wealth.^[1]

Wealth history

Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.^[4]^[1]

Forbes estimates by list year
Year	World's Billionaires rank	Net worth (US$ bn)
2001	70	5.0
2002	76	4.3
2003	67	4.5
2004	73	5.6
2005	107	4.8
2006	65	7.5
2007	62	10.0
2008	58	12.9
2009	55	8.0
2010	93	7.5
2011	162	6.0
2012	122	7.5
2013	145	8.0
2014	141	9.0
2015	133	9.5
2016	90	11.0
2017	112	11.8
2018	108	13.0
2019	82	14.6
2020	48	17.1
2021	41	34.5
2022	43	31.2
2023	41	31.6
2024	40	36.8
2025	46	36.0
2026	49	39.4

Philanthropy

No documented personal philanthropy by Gérard Wertheimer was found in the sources checked. Chanel's own charitable commitments are company-level and are not attributed to him here.

Political activity

No party donations, political office or lobbying registrations in his name were found in the sources checked.

Controversies and legal issues

No legal proceedings against him personally were found in the sources checked. Under UK rules Chanel Limited has filed a statement that it knows of no registrable person with significant control, so the public register does not show how the group is owned.^[10]

International and political links

This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."