Gerard Louis-Dreyfus Net Worth

Net Worth:	$4 Billion
Date of Birth:	June 21, 1932 - September 16, 2016 (84 years old)
Gender:	Male
Profession:	Businessperson, Poet
Nationality:	United States of America

What was Gérard Louis-Dreyfus’s Net Worth?

Gerard Louis-Dreyfus was a French native-American entrepreneur who had a net worth of $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016. Louis Dreyfus Energy Services, a division of his family’s international business enterprise Louis Dreyfus Company, was led by Gérard Louis-Dreyfus as chairman.

Trading in crude oil, investing in gas, and infrastructure all fell under the purview of the Energy Services division. He is likely most known in the United States for being the father of the honoree Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In 2016, on September 16, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus passed away.

Childhood

Gérard Louis-Dreyfus was born on June 21, 1932, in Paris, France. The founder of the commercial company Louis Dreyfus Company, Léopold, was his paternal great-grandfather. Dominique was one of his sisters’ names.

Louis-Dreyfus relocated to the United States in 1940, a few years after his parent’s divorce, where he lived with his mother. To reflect his new American identity, he took the name, William. At the same time, during World War II, his father participated in the French Resistance.

In 1954, Louis-Dreyfus graduated with a BA in English literature from Duke University, where he continued his schooling. Later, he continued his legal education at Duke University, graduating with an LLB in 1957.

Career

Louis-Dreyfus worked at the Dewey Ballantine legal firm in New York City after receiving his degree from Duke. Later, in 1965, he started working for the Louis Dreyfus Company, owned by his family.

The business, which was established in 1851 by his great-grandfather Léopold, has a variety of specialties, including agricultural, food processing, shipping, telecommunications, finance, and real estate.

Gérard was able to transform the business, which he joined when it was on the verge of going out of business, into one of the top commodities traders in the world. After the company’s subsidiary Louis Dreyfus Energy Services was established in 1997, he later served as its chairman.

The Louis Dreyfus Company is still owned by the family. In addition to running the family business, Louis-Dreyfus had a strong enthusiasm for poetry and from 1995 to 1997, he taught poetry at Jackie Robinson High School in Harlem.

Following that, he led the Poetry Society of America as chairman from 1998 to 2008. It was founded in 1910, making it the country’s first poetry organization. Notable figures like Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Marianne Moore, and Witter Bynner have all belonged to the organization.

Throughout his lifetime, Louis-Dreyfus had numerous publications of his own poems, including the New Criterion, the Hudson Review, and the Southwest Review. Through his own nonprofit organization, Louis-Dreyfus showed his dedication to assisting marginalized individuals.

The Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit organization that supports youngsters through activities and schools, was given the special designation by his foundation. In addition to his numerous illustrious achievements, Louis-Dreyfus built a sizeable art collection that included pieces by Alberto Giacometti, Wassily Kandinsky, and Helen Frankenthaler, among others.

In late 2012, he ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times titled “A Call to Arms to the Wealthy to Protect the Right to Vote” as evidence of his involvement in politics. In order to persuade wealthy Americans to fight voter suppression, Louis-Dreyfus contributed $1 million to the cause.

Relationship And Death

In 1955, Judith LeFever and Louis-Dreyfus were united in marriage. Before divorcing in 1962, the couple had a daughter named Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The television programs “Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and “Veep” helped Julia go on to become a well-known actress who is best known for her accolade-winning performances in those series.

Notably, she is the performer with the most Emmy and SAG Awards in history. Robert was a billionaire like his first cousin Gerard. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, Gerard’s widow, has amassed wealth in the billions. In 1965, Phyllis Blankenship, Louis-Dreyfus’ second wife, and he were married.

Both of their daughters, Phoebe and Emma, went on to become social workers. They also had a boy named Raphael. Up to Blankenship’s dying in 2016 at his Mount Kisco, New York, home, Louis-Dreyfus and Blankenship were still married. 84 years old was the man.

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