Jacques Guy Wertheimer (18 August 1911 – 6 February 1996) was a prominent French businessman who inherited and ran the renowned House of Chanel

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

company. Wertheimer was born at the Les Forgettes villa in

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family,World's Richest Jews
''Jerusalem Post'' the son of Germaine Revel and businessman

Pierre Wertheimer Pierre Wertheimer (8 January 1888 – 24 April 1965) was a French businessman, who co-founded Chanel with Coco Chanel. Family business Wertheimer was born to a Jewish family,architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. They had two sons, Alain and

Gérard Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitu ...

. The marriage was short-lived, and after separating, their divorce decree was issued on 11 September 1952.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Jacques Wertheimer inherited a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

operation which he developed into one of the leading stables in France. Alec Head

trained Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

for the family until his retirement in 1984 but for a number of years continued to act as their bloodstock advisor. Head's daughter Criquette took over as trainer and continued to have great success. In the 1970s, Jacques Wertheimer boarded his Kentucky-based bloodstock at Hagyard Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Among his broodmares were the French classic winners

Dancing Maid Dancing Maid (29 April 1975 – 1982) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning one of her two races as a two-year-old she emerged as one of the best fillies in Europe in 1978, winning the Prix Vanteaux, Poule d'Essai ...

, Gold River and Pistol Packer. All three are buried at Hagyard Farm. Selected

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

race wins: *

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

: Gold Splash (1993) *

Critérium de Saint-Cloud The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is sche ...

: Poliglote (1994) *

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ros ...

Green Dancer Green Dancer (14 April 1972 – 5 December 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. A son of the British Tiple Crown winner Nijinsky, he won the French 2000 Guineas in 1975. Background A son of the Eng ...

(1975), Red Lord (1976), Green Tune (1994) *

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...

Ivanjica ) , motto = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Serbia##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , pushpin_map = Serbia#Europe , coo ...

(1975),

(1978) *

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

: Ivanjica (1976), Gold River (1981) *

Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and i ...

: Mona Stella (1987), Athyka (1988, 1989) *

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 met ...

Reine de Saba Reine de Saba (7 May 1975 – 1988) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. Bred and owned by Jacques Wertheimer and trained by Alec Head she raced for three seasons and won five of her twelve races. After showing promise as a j ...

(1978) *

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), and ...

: Carwhite (1978), Green Tune (1995) *

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

: Val de l'Orne (1975) *

Prix Marcel Boussac The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sche ...

: Gold Splash (1992) *

Prix Royal-Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), a ...

: Gold River (1980), Agent Double (1984) *

Prix Saint-Alary The Prix Saint-Alary is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled t ...

: Reine de Saba (1978), Rivière d'Or (1988) *

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), a ...

: Ivanjica (1975), Dancing Maid (1978) On his death, his business empire was taken over by his two sons.

References

French businesspeople in fashion 1911 births 1996 deaths Chanel people 20th-century French Jews French racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners People from Deauville 20th-century French businesspeople Sportspeople from Calvados (department) Wertheimer family {{France-business-bio-stub