François-Marie Banier () (born ) is a French novelist, playwright, artist, actor and photographer. He is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society. In a prominent legal case, in 2016 he was convicted of 'abuse of weakness' of the elderly billionaire

Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the ...

Life and career

Banier was born in Paris, France. He grew up in a middle-class family in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

. He has claimed he had been "completely incomprehensible to isparents".Generous to a Fault?
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 21 August 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2010. Despite his modest background, from an early age he was a precocious and hyperactive talent, who was able to develop friendships with some of Paris' wealthiest arts patrons and artists. At the age of 16, he met

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

, who would send his car to bring Banier to his suite at the Hotel Meurice to discuss art.Because he’s worth it?
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 15 December 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2010. At the age of 19, he befriended the wealthy heiress and patron of the arts

Marie-Laure de Noailles Marie-Laure Henriette Anne de Noailles, Vicomtesse de Noailles (; née Bischoffsheim; 31 October 1902 – 29 January 1970) was a French artist, regarded one of the 20th century's most daring and influential patrons of the arts, noted for her asso ...

who was then 64. Banier published his first novel, ''Les Résidences secondaires ou la Vie distraite'' (''Second Homes or Distracted Life''), at the age of 22. Around the same time, a well-known Parisian designer and antique dealer

Madeleine Castaing Madeleine Castaing (, Magistry; 1894–1992) was a French antiques dealer and interior designer of international renown. She was the friend and the sponsor of many artists, including Soutine, who made her portrait in 1928. Original, even whimsic ...

Collected some of his photographs. Over the years, Banier befriended many well-known public figures and celebrities, including Yves Saint Laurent,

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric sh ...

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois chara ...

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of al ...

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He ...

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and Princess Caroline of Monaco.The bitter family battle for the L’Oréal billion
, ''

The Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 20 July 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.Because she’s worth charming
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 21 December 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2010. He is a friend of

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

and his ex-wife

Vanessa Paradis Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model, and actress. Paradis became a child star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's high ...

, whom he met at his home in the south of France.L'Oréal heiress gives €1bn to photographer 'because he's worth it'
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 15 December 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2010. Banier is godfather to their daughter, Lily-Rose.Le favori qui valait un milliard
, ''

Le Journal du Dimanche ''Le Journal du dimanche'' (English: ''Sunday's newspaper'') is a French weekly newspaper published on Sundays in France. History and profile ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' was created by Pierre Lazareff in 1948. He was managing editor of ''France ...

'', 26 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010. As of 2008 he shared his house with actor

Pascal Greggory Pascal Greggory (born 8 September 1954) is a French people, French actor. Personal life Greggory is openly gay. He had long-term relationships with Patrice Chéreau and François-Marie Banier. Filmography * ''Les Sœurs Brontë'' (1979) by Andr ...

and his nephew Martin d’Orgeval.Où est passé l'argent de Liliane Bettencourt?
23 December 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2010.

Relationship with Liliane Bettencourt

In 1987, Banier was commissioned to photograph

and

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

for the French magazine ''Egoiste''. Bettencourt was one of the principal

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s of

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...

and one of the wealthiest persons in the world with an estimated fortune of US$40.1 billion. Over the ensuing years, Banier and Bettencourt became friends and she became his chief benefactor, bestowing gifts upon him estimated to be worth as much as €1.3 billion. These gifts included a life insurance policy worth €253 million in 2003, another life insurance policy worth €262 million in 2006, 11 works of art in 2001 valued at €20 million, including paintings by

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, Mondrian, Delaunay and Léger and a photograph by surrealist

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

and cash. The life insurance policies were allegedly signed over to Banier after Bettencourt was recovering from two hospital stays in 2003 and 2006. In December 2007,

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (; born 10 July 1953) is a French businesswoman, philanthropist, writer, pianist and billionaire heiress, the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$75.3 billion as of March 2022, according to ...

, the daughter of Bettencourt, lodged a criminal complaint against Banier, accusing him of ''abus de faible''sse (or the exploitation of a physical or psychological weakness for personal gain) over Bettencourt.Une affaire de famille
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', 11 March 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2010. As a result of her complaint, the Brigade Financière, the financial investigative arm of the French national police, opened an investigation and, after interviewing members of Bettencourt's staff, determined to present the case to a court in

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

for trial in September 2009. In December 2009, the court delayed ruling on the case until April 2010 (later extended until July 2010) pending the results of a medical examination of Bettencourt's mental state.Heiress Case Delayed, With Medical Tests Ordered
''

'', 11 December 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010. However, Bettencourt refused to submit to these examinations.Secret Tapes Delay L'Oréal Heiress Case
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', 2 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010. In July 2010, the trial was adjourned again until autumn 2010, at the earliest, after details of tape recordings made by Bettencourt's butler became public. The tapes allegedly reveal that Bettencourt had made Banier her "sole heir" (excluding the L'Oréal shares which made up the bulk of her estate and which had already been signed over to her daughter and two grandsons).Embarrassment for Sarkozy as £1bn L'Oréal feud comes to court
''

'', 2 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010. Bettencourt later removed Banier from her will.French police raid home of L'Oreal heiress

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, 1 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010. In 2015 Banier was convicted of 'abuse of weakness' of Liliane Bettincourt, prosecutor Gérard Aldigé stating he had "imposed his control over her like a spider spinning its web. And once he had her in his net, he never let her go. She became his thing. He dealt with her like a vampire." Banier was sentenced to two and a half years prison, and ordered to pay €158 million in damages to Liliane Bettencourt. Seven other defendants, including Liliane Bettencourt’s financial advisor, lawyer, and notary, were also convicted and given lesser sentences. Banier appealed. The second trial, which concluded in May 2016, upheld the conviction, but reduced his sentence to four years suspended and a €375,000 fine, cancelling the other damages. In 2019, a judge dismissed the remaining charges against him.

Selected works

Novels * ''Les Résidences Secondaires'', Grasset, 1969 * ''Le Passé composé'', Grasset, 1971 * ''La Tête la première'', Grasset, 1972 * ''Balthazar, fils de famille'', Gallimard, 1985,

Grand prix des lectrices de Elle The Grand prix des lectrices de Elle is a French literary prize awarded by readers of ''Elle'' magazine. History Unlike other literary prizes that have professionals for their juries and selection committees, the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle i ...

* ''Sur un air de fête'', Gallimard, 1990 * ''Les Femmes du métro Pompe'', Gallimard, 2006 * ''Johnny Dasolo'', Gallimard, 2008 Plays * ''Hôtel du lac'', Gallimard, 1975 * ''Nous ne connaissons pas la même personne'', Grasset, 1978 * ''Je ne t'ai jamais aimé'', Gallimard, 2000 Photography * Photographies, Gallimard/Denoël, 1991 * Past-Present, William Morrow, New York, 1996 ; Schirmer/Mosel, Munich 1997 * Vivre, São Paulo, Pinacoteca do Estado ; Rio de Janeiro, Museum de Arte Moderna, 1999 * François-Marie Banier, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Asahi Schimbun, 2000 * Brésil, Gallimard, 2001 * François-Marie Banier, Miami Beach, Bass Museum of Art ; Gallimard, 2003 * Le Chanteur muet des rues, en collaboration avec Erri de Luca, éd. Martin d'Orgeval, Gallimard, 2006 * Perdre la tête, Die schönsten deutschen Bücher (Prix du meilleur livre allemand, section photographie), 2006 ; Silver Crown Award, Moscou, 2007 * Vive la vie, with photographs of

Natalia Vodianova Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova ( rus, Наталья Михайловна Водянова, , nɐˈtalʲjə mʲɪˈxajləvnə vədʲɪˈnovə; born 28 February 1982), nicknamed Supernova, is a Russian model, actress and United Nations Goodwill ...

. Steidl, Göttingen, Germany, 2008. . * Beckett, Steidl, 2009 Art exhibitions * 1991 : Musée national d'Art moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris * 1994 : Bunkamera Gallery, Tokyo ; galerie Beatrice Wassermann, Munich * 1997 : Villa Farnèse, Rome * 1998 : Private Heroes, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart * 2000 : Fotos y Pinturas, musée national des Beaux Arts d'Argentine, Buenos Aires * 2001 : Täglich Neues, musée Ludwig ; Coblence ; Budapest * 2003 : Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris * 2003 : Transphotographiques, Lille, Crypte de la Cathédrale de la Treille * 2005 : Perdre la tête, Académie de France à Rome, Villa Medici * 2006 : True Stories, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul * 2007 : Perdre la tête, Manège de Moscou * 2007 : Galerie Gagosian, Los Angeles * 2007 : Written Photos, Villa Oppenheim, Berlin * 2007 : Transphotographiques, Lille, Eglise St Maurice * 2009 : Beckett, Maison de la Photographie, Lille Filmography (actor) * Chassé-croisé, film by Arielle Dombasle, 1982 *

L'Argent ''L'Argent'' ("Money") is the eighteenth novel in the '' Rougon-Macquart'' series by Émile Zola. It was serialized in the periodical ''Gil Blas'' beginning in November 1890 before being published in novel form by Charpentier et Fasquelle in March ...

, film by

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

, 1983 * La Nuit porte-jarretelles, film by Virginie Thévenet, 1985 * 4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle, film by

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

, 1987 * L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque, film by

, 1993 * L'Anglaise et le Duc, film by

, 2001 * L'Heure d'été, film by Olivier Assayas, 2008

References

External links

* * http://www.quotidien-libre.fr/loreal-bettencourt-proces-cloture/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Banier, Francois-Marie Writers from Paris French gay writers Gay artists Photographers from Paris Living people 1947 births 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French novelists 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights French LGBT novelists French LGBT dramatists and playwrights Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay novelists French male dramatists and playwrights French male novelists LGBT painters 21st-century French male writers French prisoners and detainees