Xavier Niel
French telecoms entrepreneur; founder of Iliad (Free) and media investor
| Xavier Niel
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Niel at the LeWeb conference, December 2014 |
| Born | 25 August 1967 (Forbes; Capital) Maisons-Alfort, France (Capital) |
| Nationality | French |
| Residence | Paris (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Founder and main shareholder, Iliad; chairman of the board, Iliad S.A. |
| Known for | Free; Free Mobile; Station F; École 42; investor in Le Monde |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
Xavier Niel (born 25 August 1967) is a French telecoms entrepreneur. He founded Iliad, the parent of the internet and mobile operator Free, and is its main shareholder and board chairman.[1][2] Through his holding company NJJ Holding he also invests in property and the media. He sits on the boards of ByteDance and KKR Management LLC, and on the supervisory board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.[2] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Niel 192nd in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$14.8 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as internet, telecom.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Niel 197th, at US$14.6 billion.[4] Since 2010 Niel has been one of the main shareholders of the newspaper Le Monde. In 2024 his NJJ Presse holding passed to an endowment fund he had set up to protect the paper's independence.[5][6][7]
Early career
Capital says Niel was born in Maisons-Alfort and taught himself computing. In 1987 he bought a company producing erotic content for the Minitel and renamed it Iliad; he also invested in sex shops and peep shows.[5] Forbes likewise notes that he once owned Parisian peep shows.[1] The sources disagree on Worldnet, an early French internet provider. Forbes says Niel started it in 1993, aged 25, and sold out seven years later for US$50 million. Capital says he invested in it in 1995.[1][5]
Iliad and Free
Capital says Niel launched Free two years after the Worldnet investment, followed in 2002 by the Freebox, which offered internet, telephone and television together.[5] Forbes says Free Mobile, launched in 2012, sold unlimited calls, texts and data far more cheaply than its French competitors.[1] Abroad, Niel bought Orange Switzerland in 2014 for US$2.9 billion and renamed it Salt. He also owns Monaco Telecom.[1] Capital names further operator purchases, including Tele2 in Sweden and Play in Poland.[5] Forbes reports that he owned more than 70% of Iliad before taking it private in July 2021, and that he holds a stake in Vodafone.[1]
Le Monde and other media
Capital says Niel became co-owner of Le Monde in 2010 with Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre Bergé. It also says he invested in Mediapart that year and in 2020 bought regional titles including Nice-Matin and France-Antilles.[5] Forbes gave his Le Monde stake as 27% in 2022.[1] According to Les Echos, Niel created the Fonds pour l'indépendance de la presse in 2021 to protect the paper's capital after tensions caused by Daniel Křetínský's indirect entry into its shareholding in late 2018. Niel had since bought out Křetínský's shares.[7] In April 2024 the fund, chaired by Alain Frachon, acquired all but one share of NJJ Presse for €1. Niel kept one share so that he could reinvest if needed.[7] TheWrap reported that the fund then held 99.9% of NJJ Presse and indirectly of Groupe Le Monde, and that its shares cannot be transferred.[6] Forbes's 2026 profile still lists a stake in Le Monde among his holdings.[1]
Education and start-ups
Niel founded the free coding school 42 in 2013. Capital says it had 54 campuses in 31 countries by 2023.[5] The sources date the Station F start-up campus in Paris differently: Capital says he invested €250 million in it in 2017, while Forbes's 2022 profile says it opened in June 2019.[5][1]
Legal case
Capital reports that in 2004 Niel was placed under formal investigation for aggravated procuring and misuse of assets in connection with his sex-shop investments. The procuring charge was dismissed in 2005. In 2006 he received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €250,000 fine on the misuse-of-funds count.[5]
Property
Forbes says Niel bought 3% of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in October 2020 and held 11% by 2022.[1] The company says he served on its supervisory board from November 2020 to October 2024 and rejoined it on 29 April 2025.[2]
Wealth
Forbes classes Niel as self-made, with wealth from internet and telecoms.[1] Capital estimated his fortune at €14.92 billion in 2024, tenth in France.[5]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 16 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2011. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 297 | 3.7 |
| 2012 | 232 | 4.5 |
| 2013 | 179 | 6.6 |
| 2014 | 162 | 8.2 |
| 2015 | 136 | 9.3 |
| 2016 | 129 | 8.6 |
| 2017 | 159 | 8.1 |
| 2018 | 186 | 8.1 |
| 2019 | 478 | 4.1 |
| 2020 | 253 | 6.1 |
| 2021 | 269 | 8.8 |
| 2022 | 230 | 8.9 |
| 2023 | 365 | 6.7 |
| 2024 | 228 | 9.9 |
| 2025 | 248 | 10.6 |
| 2026 | 197 | 14.6 |
Political activity
No political donations or formal political roles held by Niel were found in the sources checked. His ownership of Le Monde and regional newspapers is covered above.
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."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
Niel sits on the board of ByteDance Ltd.[2]
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
Switzerland: Salt. Monaco: Monaco Telecom. United Kingdom: a stake in Vodafone.[1] Poland and Sweden: operator acquisitions (Play, Tele2) reported by Capital.[5] United States: a board seat at KKR Management LLC.[2]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Xavier Niel (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/xavier-niel/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Xavier Niel – Member of the Supervisory Board Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, undated page, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 20:12 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Léa Boluze, Xavier Niel – Entrepreneur – Biographie Capital, 14 January 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Natalie Korach, Le Monde acquired by press protection endowment fund TheWrap, 29 April 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Marina Alcaraz, « Le Monde » appartient désormais à un fonds de dotation Les Echos, 23 April 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.