Chris Bryant, Columnist

French Family Makes Billions From 3D Wizardry

Software was the bedrock of Serge Dassault’s fortune.

May 30, 2018 at 6:15 AM UTC

Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times.

Forget fighter jets.
Photograph: Dina Rudick/Boston Globe/Getty Images

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Serge Dassault, the billionaire French businessman who died on Monday, owed his considerable political clout to his family’s stake in Dassault Aviation SA, the maker of France’s Rafale and Mirage fighter jets. Owning Le Figaro newspaper cemented his influence.

The chief source of his $27 billion fortune was less glamorous, though: A 41 percent stake in Dassault Systemes SE, which sells 3D design, simulation and industrial data management software.