Finance

This Is How a French Billionaire Retires

Vincent Bollore makes $50 billion worth of deals.

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By Carol Matlack and Alexandre Boksenbaum-Granier

October 17, 2017 at 4:42 AM UTC

Updated on

October 17, 2017 at 11:24 AM UTC

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French billionaire Vincent Bollore plans to retire on Feb. 17, 2022, the 200th anniversary of his family-held Bollore Group. Before handing his far-flung empire to his children, the 65-year-old corporate raider has set himself one more task: creating a media giant close to home.

He’s hitting obstacles on all fronts. Politicians, regulators, minority shareholders and would-be targets are resisting his attempts to use Vivendi SA to swallow leading broadcast, communications and video-game companies in Italy and France. Since he started building his controlling stake in Vivendi, Bollore has bought and sold 42.6 billion euros ($50.6 billion) in corporate assets—and it’s not clear what he’s gotten for it.