Kyril Louis-Dreyfus

Last updated
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus
Born (1997-12-18) 18 December 1997 (age 26)
Zürich, Switzerland
NationalityFrench
Known forChairman and 64% owner, Sunderland
Spouse
Alexandra Nowikovsky
​
​
(m. 2021)​
Children1
Parent(s) Robert Louis-Dreyfus
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Relatives Julia Louis-Dreyfus
(paternal second cousin twice removed)

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (born 18 December 1997) [1] is a Swiss-French businessman. He is a member of the French Louis-Dreyfus family. [2]

Contents

Since February 2021, Louis-Dreyfus has been the Chairman of English Championship football club, Sunderland. [3] [4] [5] In June 2022, he went from Chairman and minority stakeholder to Chairman and majority stakeholder.

Early life

Louis-Dreyfus was born in Zürich, Switzerland. [6] He is the son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus. [7]

In 2017, Louis-Dreyfus started studying sports and business management at the Leeds Beckett University for one year and moved to attend Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) for his second year. [8] He later dropped out due to injuries. [9]

Career

In 2021, he acquired a "controlling" stake in the English Championship football club, Sunderland, from its previous owner, Stewart Donald. [5] [10] The acquisition made him the youngest chairman in English football. [11] [12] On 15 February 2022, it was revealed that Louis-Dreyfus was not a majority shareholder of Sunderland as his stake in the club was only 41%, with the remaining 59% of shares made up of former owner Donald, and directors Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori. [13]

In June 2022, Louis-Dreyfus increased his shares in Sunderland from 41% to 51% - thus becoming majority & controlling shareholder - buying out Charlie Methvens 5%, and reducing Stewart Donald's percentage from 34% to 19%. Juan Sartori picked up the remainder of Donald's shares, increasing his holdings from 20% to 30%.

In May of 2023, Stewart Donald's remaining shares were bought out by both Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori. Louis-Dreyfus increased his share holdings in Sunderland to 64%, whilst Sartori increase his to 36%. Many Sunderland supporters welcomed this news, bringing to a close the involvement of Donald and Methven in their football club. [14]

Over his reign as owner of the club, Louis-Dreyfus has been subject to heavy criticism along with Director of Football Kristjaan Speakman, over the way they have run the club, whom of which include a strategy of mainly signing young players on the rise, and selling the club's experienced players, as well as things such as the redecoration of the Black Cats Bar, The bar in the Stadium Of Light, the clubs home ground, in banners of their arch rivals Newcastle United, ahead of a FA Cup Third Round tie on 6th January 2024. As well as the ongoing failures to appoint a Head Coach, of which has lasted more 100 days as of June 2024. However on 7th June 2024, The club put out a statement by Louis-Dreyfus saying that the search for a Head Coach was nearing a conclusion, and that a new one would be appointed imminently. [15]

Louis-Dreyfus is also a 5% stakeholder in the French football club, Marseille, and has stakes in esports' organisation Ovation. [6] [16]

Personal life

On 21 December 2021 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Louis-Dreyfus married his longtime girlfriend Alexandra Nowikovsky, the daughter of Sydney-born former Australian model Toneya Bird. [17] They announced birth of their first child on 16 March 2024. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ "Who is Kyril Louis-Dreyfus? The net worth of the billionaire son who has sealed a Sunderland AFC takeover". www.sunderlandecho.com.
  2. ↑ "Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus makes modest decision as he looks to better engage with Black Cats". The 72. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  3. ↑ "Louis-Dreyfus completes Sunderland takeover". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  4. ↑ "Louis-Dreyfus acquires controlling interest in Sunderland AFC". Sunderland Association Football Club. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  5. 1 2 "EFL confirms takeover of Sunderland by 23-year-old Frenchman Louis-Dreyfus". the Guardian. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  6. 1 2 "Swiss Esports Organization Ovation Raises Seed Round from Louis-Dreyfus Brothers – The Esports Observer". 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  7. ↑ Hewitt, Matty (2021-02-18). "Who is 23-year-old Louis-Dreyfus? Sunderland's new majority shareholder". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  8. ↑ "Young heir to $7b empire is unmasked". Queensland Times. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  9. ↑ "Meet Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, 23 – English football's youngest chairman". the Guardian. 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  10. ↑ "The man who brought Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to Sunderland explains why his long-term plans are so exciting". The Northern Echo. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  11. ↑ Hunter, James (2021-02-18). "Sunderland takeover complete - full details". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  12. ↑ Wignall, Ben (2021-05-03). "Kevin Phillips makes Sunderland transfer prediction ahead of 2021/22 season". Football League World. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  13. ↑ "Kyril Louis-Dreyfus admits he owns just 41% of Sunderland". The Athletic UK. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Graham, Michael (2023-05-27). "Stewart Donald officially gone from Sunderland". Sports Illustrated Sunderland Nation. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  15. ↑ "A message to our supporters". Sunderland Association Football Club. 2024-06-07. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  16. ↑ "Sunderland's 23-year-old new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is heir to a £4 billion fortune". GiveMeSport. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  17. ↑ "She said yes 🤠". instagram.com.
  18. ↑ "Sunderland co-owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus makes major life announcement on social media" . Retrieved 2024-04-23.
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