Michel Chalhoub (9 October 1931 – 30 July 2021) was a French billionaire of Syrian origin, and founder of the

Chalhoub Group Chalhoub Group (Arabic مجموعة شلهوب) is a privately held luxury goods retailer and distributor, headquartered in Dubai, UAE. The Chalhoub Group is the largest retail operator in the Middle East. The company has more than 12,000 employe ...

. As of August 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$1.1 billion.

Early life

Michel Chalhoub was born in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Syria, in 1931.

Career

Michel and Widad Chalhoub started their business in Damascus in 1955. After the successful military coup of Syria and the economic uncertainty, they were compelled to move to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. A decade later, due to the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, they relocated to Kuwait where the company flourished and their sons, Anthony and Patrick, joined the Group In 1990 was the

Invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

followed by the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, they were forced to establish an exile operation in order to keep the company going. They ended up controlling about 20% of the region's market in luxury goods.

Personal life

Michel Chalhoub was married to Widad, and they lived in Dubai. Their two sons, Anthony and Patrick, took over as co-CEOs of Chalhoub Group in 2001. Since Anthony’s death in 2018, Patrick is the sole CEO.

Death

Michel Chalhoub died on 30 July 2021, aged 89. He is survived by his wife Widad and one son, Patrick.

References

1931 births 2021 deaths French billionaires French businesspeople French people of Syrian descent Syrian billionaires People from Damascus French company founders {{France-business-bio-stub