Profile
Albert, Baron Frère (born 4 February 1926 in Fontaine-l'Évêque near Charleroi, Belgium) is a Belgian businessman and the richest man in Belgium.
Frère grew up as a son of a nail merchant and helped in the business since an early age. His father died when Frère was 17; Frère had to leave school and run the family business by himself. At the age of 30, he started investing in Belgian steel factories and by the end of the 1970s he practically controlled the whole steel industry in the region of Charleroi. He foresaw the coming steel crisis of the late 1970s and sold his enterprises to the Belgian state after merging them with the competing steel firm Cockerill to create Cockerill-Sambre.
Frère used the proceeds from this sale to build an investment empire around the Swiss holding company Pargesa which he founded with the Canadian investor Paul Desmarais. Pargesa took over the Belgian holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert in 1982 and over the year added significant stakes in such wide ranging Belgian companies as Petrofina, Royale Belge Insurance, Compagnie Luxembourgoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), and Tractebel. He actively promoted international consolidation of the sectors in which he was involved, selling Banque Bruxelles Lambert to ING Group, Royale Belge to Axa, Tractebel to Suez, Petrofina to Total S.A., and RTL to Bertelsmann.
Frère is married and has three children. In 2002, he received the title of baron from the Belgian king Albert II. He is a co-owner, together with Bernard Arnault of LVMH, of the Château Cheval Blanc winery near Bordeaux. He is a member of the Cercle Gaulois.
Overview over Albert Frère's shareholdings as of May 2009
Schematic overview of Albert Frère's shareholdings
Source @ Wikipedia
Latest news about Albert Frère
Former positions of Albert Frère
Companies | Position | End |
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Frere Bourgeois SA
Frere Bourgeois SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance Frere Bourgeois is an investment holding company with interest in mid-market investment sector. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Loveral, Belgium. | Chairman | 02/12/2018 |
Agache SCA
Agache SCA Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Groupe Arnault SE engages in the acquisition of stakes in other companies. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Paris, France. | Corporate Officer/Principal | 02/12/2018 |
Belholding Belgium SA | Director/Board Member | 02/12/2018 |
Société des Amis du Louvre | Director/Board Member | 02/12/2018 |
Université du Travail | Director/Board Member | 02/12/2018 |
Experiences
Positions held
Connections
1st degree connections
1st degree companies
Male
Female
Members of the board
Executives
Linked companies
Listed companies | 4 |
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M6 MÉTROPOLE TÉLÉVISION | Consumer Services |
LVMH | Consumer Non-Durables |
GROUPE BRUXELLES LAMBERT SA | Finance |
ENGIE | Utilities |
Private companies | 22 |
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Frere Bourgeois SA
Frere Bourgeois SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance Frere Bourgeois is an investment holding company with interest in mid-market investment sector. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Loveral, Belgium. | Finance |
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA (Investment Company)
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA (Investment Company) Financial ConglomeratesFinance Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA (Investment Company) (GBL-IC) is the investment management division of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA (EBR: GBLB), an investment holding company headquartered in Brussels, Belgiuim. The firm was founded in 1902 and is a subsidiary of Parjointco NV in The Netherlands. GBL-IC aims to maintain and promote the growth of a portfolio of investments focused primarily on a small number of companies. | Finance |
Erbe SA
Erbe SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance Erbe SA provides investment services. It also provides management and corporate consultancy, and financial lease services. The company is headquartered in Gerpinnes, Belgium. | Finance |
Financière de la Sambre SA
Financière de la Sambre SA MiscellaneousMiscellaneous Financière de la Sambre SA operates as an investment holding company. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Gerpines, Belgium. | Miscellaneous |
Lafarge SA
Lafarge SA Construction MaterialsNon-Energy Minerals Lafarge SA engaged in the production and marketing of building materials. It produces and sells cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete. The company's building products and solutions were used to construct and renovate homes, buildings and infrastructures. It provided its services under the brand name Lafarge. The company operated through the following divisions: Cement, and Aggregates and Concrete. The Cement division produced and sold a wide range of cement and hydraulic binders adapted to the needs of the construction industry. It also offered specialty cements suitable for use in a variety of environmental conditions and specific applications, natural lime hydraulic binders, masonry cements, and ground blast furnace slag. The Aggregates and Concrete division produced and sold aggregates, ready mix concrete, and products relating to paving activities. It also offered plaster based products which include plaster plate, plaster squares, coatings, metal framework and industrial plaster. Lafarge was founded by Joseph-Auguste Pavin de Lafarge in 1833 and was headquartered in Toulouse, France. | Non-Energy Minerals |
Raspail Investissements SA
Raspail Investissements SA Beverages: AlcoholicConsumer Non-Durables Raspail Investissements SA operates as a holding company with interests in wine production. The company also provides investment, financial and management services to the wine sector. The firm operates under the brand names Cheval Blanc and Quick. It was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Paris, France. | Consumer Non-Durables |
CA Indosuez Wealth (Italy) SpA
CA Indosuez Wealth (Italy) SpA Financial ConglomeratesFinance CA Indosuez Wealth (Italy) SpA operates as an investment bank. The company was founded in October 1999 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy. | Finance |
GBL Verwaltung SA
GBL Verwaltung SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance Part of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA, GBL Verwaltung SA is a financial services provider. The company is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. | Finance |
Agache SCA
Agache SCA Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Groupe Arnault SE engages in the acquisition of stakes in other companies. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Paris, France. | Commercial Services |
Château Cheval Blanc SC
Château Cheval Blanc SC Beverages: AlcoholicConsumer Non-Durables Château Cheval Blanc SC manufactures and distributes wines. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Emilion, France. | Consumer Non-Durables |
Centre de Transposition Semi-Industrielle de la Recherche | |
Cercle de Lorraine ASBL | |
Pargesa Holding SA
Pargesa Holding SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance Pargesa Holding SA engages in investing, holding, managing, and trading in shareholdings of operational companies active in various sectors of industry and the services. The company was founded by Albert Frère in 1981 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. | Finance |
Féderal Charity the Friends of the Blind | |
GBL Energy SARL | |
Parjointco NV
Parjointco NV Financial ConglomeratesFinance Parjointco NV operates as an investment holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. | Finance |
SUEZ SA /Old/
SUEZ SA /Old/ Environmental ServicesIndustrial Services SUEZ SA develops its businesses around a model based on responsible growth to take up today's major energy and environmental challenges: meeting energy needs, ensuring the security of supply, fighting against climate change and maximizing the use of resources. The Group provides highly efficient and innovative solutions to individuals, cities and businesses by relying on diversified gas-supply sources, flexible and low-emission power generation as well as unique expertise in four key sectors: liquefied natural gas, energy efficiency services, independent power production and environmental services. | Industrial Services |
LOVERVAL FINANCE SA
LOVERVAL FINANCE SA Financial ConglomeratesFinance LOVERVAL FINANCE SA functions as an investment holding Belgian company. The company is based in Gerpinnes, Belgium. | Finance |
Société des Amis du Louvre | |
Belholding Belgium SA | |
Stichting Administratiekantoor Frère-Bourgeois
Stichting Administratiekantoor Frère-Bourgeois Investment Trusts/Mutual FundsMiscellaneous Stichting Administratiekantoor Frère-Bourgeois operates as a foundation. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. | Miscellaneous |
GBL Finance SA
GBL Finance SA MiscellaneousMiscellaneous Part of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA, GBL Finance SA is a holding Luxembourger company. The company is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. | Miscellaneous |
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