French billionaire Pierre-Edouard Sterin, who has caused controversy for his far-right politics, is urging lawmakers to change the law to deprive his five children, saying he prefers to give his wealth to charities.
“I would like to give away all my wealth to philanthropic causes,” the businessman told senators on Thursday during a public debate, noting that under French law three quarters of his wealth would have to be passed on to his children. “I prefer to be able to do whatever one wants to do with one’s inheritance.”
French inheritance laws are based in part on Napoleonic law and include so-called forced inheritance, where children are protected and property generally cannot be passed on according to a person’s will. It is a common concept in civil law areas across Europe, but not in areas such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Sterin made his appeal before a committee investigating private sector funding and influence in public policymaking. His appearance via video link came a year after he angered deputies in the country’s parliament, the National Assembly, by failing to attend another session, citing death threats and security risks.
The 52-year-old taxpayer, who lives in Belgium, has sparked a heated debate in France in recent years over his support of philanthropic and political outfits, some of which are linked to causes promoted by far-right political parties. Sterin said on Thursday that he hoped his measures would help put France on a more right-wing, economically liberal and conservative path.
He told senators that he was “centre-right”, but on immigration he was tougher than the far-right National Conference, whose leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are leading the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election. Sterin, however, has ties to the RN party through Francois Durvye, former CEO of his family office Otium Capital.
