The Pinaults’ Contribution
Francois-Henri Pinault together with his family has reportedly pledged to donate the sum of $113 million to help in rebuilding the Notre-Dame Cathedral located in Paris.
In a statement, he wrote that together with his father, he has decided to donate 100 million euros in a bid to be a part of the efforts necessary for a total reconstruction of the cathedral after it caught on fire a few weeks ago.
Francois-Henri is the CEO and chairman of Kering. Kering is an international luxury company that owns brands such as Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Gucci. He is married to Salma Hayek who also took to social media to express how sorry she felt about the heartbreaking event.
In an Instagram caption, she wrote that she is in deep shock and also sad to witness what happened to the cathedral.
She ended with a message about her love for Paris. Salma and Francois-Henri got married at a venue notvery far away from the cathedral.
Donation From LVMH
After the news of the donation broke, another luxury group, LVMH, with its chairman as Bernard Arnault announced that it would also donate $226 million.
The company shared a statement on Instagram that the Arnault family along with the LVMH group are also committed to help in the reconstruction of the cathedral, one of France’s most famous symbols of unity and heritage.
According to Pinault, the tragedy that occurred has affected the whole of the French people. More than that, Pinault said it affects everyone that has one form of attachment of the other to spiritual values, and that explains why everyone wants to help bring the cathedral back to life.
The Pinault family were the first out of the three richest families in France to donate to give back life to the Notre Dame. In total, all the families have pledged to contribute a combined sum of $565 million.
Donation Without Ulterior Motive
Salma showered praise on the family of her husband for the generous donation and added that they have no intention of taking any tax credits.
She wrote that she’s proud to be part of the family. She noted that they wouldn’t be claiming any form of tax deductions from the government on the donation after there was controversy about the generous tax benefits of France.
She made the revelation on Instagram after some trolls came for her on social media. Individuals in France can deduct about 66 percent of any charitable gift off their taxes and businesses get to claim 60 percent.
The actress noted that her husband and his family are generous people who genuinely understand how important the spiritual, historical and cultural cathedral is to the world. Kering is based in Paris, and the Pinault family is reportedly worth about $37.3 billion.