Xavier Niel
Encyclopedia
Xavier Niel, born 25 August 1967 is a French entrepreneur and businessman, active in the telecommunications and technology industry and best known as founder and majority shareholder of the French Internet service provider
Iliad
trading under the Free brand. He currently acts as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Strategy Officer for Iliad
His net worth is about 4.5 billion US$.
(a French forerunner of the internet) service company.
In 1993, he created with a friend the first Internet Service Provider in France, Worldnet, which he sold just before the internet bubble burst.
After taking over a company subsequently renamed Iliad, Xavier Niel launched in 1996 the 1st reversed directory service on the Minitel. This service is still responsible for 1 million euros of revenue per year for Iliad.
In 1999, he created Free, a French Internet service provider
. In 2002, Free launched a broadband package at a low price (€ 29.99 per month), which became the benchmark in the market. At the same time, Free developed and launched the Freebox: the first triple-play
multi-service box in France.
Niel remains Iliad’s majority shareholder, holding more than 64% of the share capital. In spite of intermittent rumours, he never intended to sell his shares. When Management magazine mentioned this possibility in February 2008, he replied “What would I do then if I sell? Hang around all day in my pyjamas? Analysts have been dreaming about me selling the business for years, but I don’t care. There’s more to life than mergers and acquisitions!”.
In March 2010, Xavier Niel cofounded with Jeremie Berrebi Kima Ventures . This fund is dedicated to invest from 50 to 100 startups a year everywhere in the world. Kima Ventures already invested in 130 companies from February 2010 to November 2011 in 18 countries. Business insider described Xavier Niel and Jeremie Berrebi as the most active angel investors
in the world.
In late 2010 Niel was a member of a group of investors which acquired a controlling stake in the newspaper Le Monde
.
and detained for a month for alleged procuring
and misuse of company assets, which occurred in several Sex shop
s he shared with other associates. On August 30, 2005, a Nolle prosequi
was pronounced for the procuring part of his indictment, but he was condemned on October 13, 2006, to 2 years of deferred jail sentence for the misuse of company assets.
After this judgment, Xavier Niel attacked the newspaper Libération
several times for Defamation about articles relating his judiciary problems, but he was consistently dismissed.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
Iliad
Iliad (company)
Iliad S.A. is a French provider of telecommunication services. It is based in Paris and its operations comprise fixed telephony services, prepaid phone cards and internet access providing and hosting services. The company was founded by Xavier Niel in 1999....
trading under the Free brand. He currently acts as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Strategy Officer for Iliad
His net worth is about 4.5 billion US$.
Biography
Born to a French Catholic father and German Jewish mother, Xavier Niel started early by developing telecommunication and data services. He embarked at a young age on a entrepreneurial career. At 19, he successfully created then sold his first company, a MinitelMinitel
The Minitel is a Videotex online service accessible through the telephone lines, and is considered one of the world's most successful pre-World Wide Web online services. It was launched in France in 1982 by the PTT...
(a French forerunner of the internet) service company.
In 1993, he created with a friend the first Internet Service Provider in France, Worldnet, which he sold just before the internet bubble burst.
After taking over a company subsequently renamed Iliad, Xavier Niel launched in 1996 the 1st reversed directory service on the Minitel. This service is still responsible for 1 million euros of revenue per year for Iliad.
In 1999, he created Free, a French Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
. In 2002, Free launched a broadband package at a low price (€ 29.99 per month), which became the benchmark in the market. At the same time, Free developed and launched the Freebox: the first triple-play
Triple play (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, triple play service is a marketing term for the provisioning of two bandwidth-intensive services, high-speed Internet access and television, and a less bandwidth-demanding service, telephone, over a single broadband connection. Triple play focuses on a combined business...
multi-service box in France.
Niel remains Iliad’s majority shareholder, holding more than 64% of the share capital. In spite of intermittent rumours, he never intended to sell his shares. When Management magazine mentioned this possibility in February 2008, he replied “What would I do then if I sell? Hang around all day in my pyjamas? Analysts have been dreaming about me selling the business for years, but I don’t care. There’s more to life than mergers and acquisitions!”.
In March 2010, Xavier Niel cofounded with Jeremie Berrebi Kima Ventures . This fund is dedicated to invest from 50 to 100 startups a year everywhere in the world. Kima Ventures already invested in 130 companies from February 2010 to November 2011 in 18 countries. Business insider described Xavier Niel and Jeremie Berrebi as the most active angel investors
Angel investor
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
in the world.
In late 2010 Niel was a member of a group of investors which acquired a controlling stake in the newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
.
Judiciary problems
On May 28, 2004, Xavier Niel was indictedIndictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
and detained for a month for alleged procuring
Procuring (prostitution)
Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. Examples of procuring include:*trafficking a prostitute into a country for the purpose of soliciting sex...
and misuse of company assets, which occurred in several Sex shop
Sex shop
A sex shop, erotic shop is a shop that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, clothing, pornography, and other related products...
s he shared with other associates. On August 30, 2005, a Nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi is legal term of art and a Latin legal phrase meaning "to be unwilling to pursue", a phrase amounting to "please do not prosecute". It is a phrase used in many common law criminal prosecution contexts to describe a prosecutor's decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges...
was pronounced for the procuring part of his indictment, but he was condemned on October 13, 2006, to 2 years of deferred jail sentence for the misuse of company assets.
After this judgment, Xavier Niel attacked the newspaper Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
several times for Defamation about articles relating his judiciary problems, but he was consistently dismissed.
See also
- IliadIliad (company)Iliad S.A. is a French provider of telecommunication services. It is based in Paris and its operations comprise fixed telephony services, prepaid phone cards and internet access providing and hosting services. The company was founded by Xavier Niel in 1999....
- Free