Claude Bébéar

Early life

Claude Bébéar was born in Issac, France on 29 July 1935.[1][3] He graduated from the Lycée Saint-Louis and the École Polytechnique.[1][3] Bébéar was trained at the Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School in Saumur and did his military service in Algeria.[1] He then received a diploma from the Institute of Actuaries of France.[1]

Career

Bébéar started his career at Anciennes Mutuelles, up until he became CEO after André Sahut d'Izarn's death in 1975.[1] In 1985, it became known as AXA.[1]

He helped out Jean-Marie Messier from Vivendi. He was involved in the ousting of the chairmen of Rhodia.[4]

Bébéar was a member of the board of directors of Vivendi, BNP Paribas and Schneider Electric,[3] and was a member of Le Siècle.[5] He was also Chairman of the Institut du mécénat de solidarité and the Institut Montaigne.[3]

Personal life and death

Bébéar was a Roman Catholic, widowed with three children, two of whom were adopted from South Korea. In 2007, he was worth €106 million.[6]

Bébéar died in France on 4 November 2025, at the age of 90.[7]