Alain Mérieux (born 10 July 1938) is a French
billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...
businessman, chairman of
Institut Mérieux
Institut Mérieux is a French holding company owned by the Mérieux family from Lyon.
History
It was created by Marcel Mérieux in 1897 under the name ''Institut Biologique Mérieux'' (Mérieux Biological Institute). The vaccine development bra ...
and politician.
Early life
Alain Mérieux is the son of
Charles Mérieux
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
(1907–2001), and the grandson of Marcel Mérieux (1870–1937), who founded
Institut Mérieux
Institut Mérieux is a French holding company owned by the Mérieux family from Lyon.
History
It was created by Marcel Mérieux in 1897 under the name ''Institut Biologique Mérieux'' (Mérieux Biological Institute). The vaccine development bra ...
in 1897.
Career
Alain Merieux has also been involved in political activities in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where he was first vice-president of the board of the Rhone-Alpes region from 1986 until 1998, where he was in charge of foreign relations, economic development, research and secondary education.
Personal life
Mérieux lives in
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, and is married with three children.
In 2006, his eldest son, Christopher died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. His middle son, Rudolph died in 1996 in a plane crash. As of 2 December 2021, Bloomberg estimated Mérieux's net worth to be US$8.80 Billion which make him the 277th richest person in the world.
See also
*
Mérieux family The Mérieux family is an entrepreneurial dynasty from Lyon, France, owners of the Institut Mérieux holding, founders of companies such as Sanofi Pasteur, bioMérieux (in vitro diagnostics) and Mérial (veterinary activity), but also of the found ...
References
1938 births
Living people
French billionaires
Businesspeople from Lyon
University of Lyon alumni
Harvard Business School alumni
Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour
Mérieux family
{{France-business-bio-stub