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]

Louis-Dreyfus is also a 5% stakeholder in the French football club, Marseille, and has stakes in esports' organisation Ovation. [6] [15]

Personal life

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunderland A.F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The team compete in the Championship, the second level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadium of Light</span> Football stadium in Sunderland, England

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. home matches. The stadium was named by chairman Bob Murray to reflect the coal mining heritage of the North East and the former Monkwearmouth Colliery site on which it stands. A Davy lamp monument stands at the entrance to reflect the coal mining industry that brought prosperity to the town.

Sir Robert Sydney Murray is a businessman and former chairman of Sunderland AFC. An accountant by trade, he made his fortune through the growth and sale of the Spring Ram kitchen manufacturing company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Louis-Dreyfus</span> French businessman

Robert Louis-Dreyfus was a French businessman who was chief executive officer (CEO) of Adidas and Saatchi & Saatchi. He was a majority shareholder of the French football team Olympique de Marseille, and during his tenure they re-emerged as a major European club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kroenke Sports & Entertainment</span> American sports and entertainment company

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is an American sports and entertainment holding company based in Denver, Colorado. Originally known as Kroenke Sports Enterprises, it was started in 1999 by businessman Stan Kroenke to be the parent company of his sports holdings. Today, the company has control of over five professional sport franchises, and one association football club that has two teams: Arsenal F.C. and Arsenal W.F.C., four stadiums, two professional esports franchised teams, four television channels, an internet TV channel, & 19 magazines which operate under the badge Outdoor Sportsman Group, four radio stations which operate under the badge KSE Radio Ventures, LLC, and websites.

The Drumaville Consortium was a group of seven Irish businessmen and one English businessman led by former footballer Niall Quinn, who were involved in the 2006 takeover of English Premier League football club Sunderland A.F.C. The consortium was named after the village of Drumaville in County Donegal.

Jim Rodwell is the former chairman of Boston United and also a former footballer who played centre-half for the club.

Louis-Dreyfus may refer to:

Ellis Short American businessman and founder of Kildare Partners, a private equity fund investing in distressed European real estate assets. Short was also the owner and chairman of English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from September 2008 to April 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ownership of Arsenal F.C. & W.F.C.</span> Legal aspect of the English football teams

The ownership of Arsenal F.C. and Arsenal W.F.C. is considerably different from that of other clubs in English football for men and women. It is owned by a parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, which has relatively few shares which are infrequently traded. Historically, the club has been owned by descendants of the Bracewell-Smith and Hill-Wood families. The club attracted outside interest as two rival tycoons, Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov, acquired significant share holdings in 2007. In August 2018, Kroenke's offer of £550 million for Usmanov's share was accepted, and Kroenke bought out the remainder of the shares to become the club's sole shareholder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Sartori</span> Uruguayan politician

Juan José Sartori Piñeyro is a Uruguayan businessman, senator and co-owner of Sunderland. He is the president and founder of Union Group, a privately owned investment management and private equity firm that holds significant interests across an array of industries worldwide, including agriculture, technology, energy and real estate.

Ekaterina Dmitrievna Rybolovleva is a businesswoman, equestrian and socialite. She is the daughter of Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev. A competitor in equestrian competitions, she is also the owner of several businesses and properties, including those on the islands of Skorpios and Sparti. Rybolovleva owns the football club AS Monaco FC via a trust in her name, although her father serves as the president.

For other people with the same name see Huw Jenkins (disambiguation)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarita Louis-Dreyfus</span> Swiss businessperson (born 1962)

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus is a Russian-born Swiss billionaire businesswoman, chairperson of the Louis-Dreyfus Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation of Light</span> Charity

The Foundation of Light is a Registered Charity in the United Kingdom, and is the independent charitable foundation of professional football club Sunderland A.F.C. It is the biggest football charity in the UK.

Stewart Donald is an English businessman and football administrator. Based in Witney, Oxfordshire, he is the chairman and majority shareholder of Eastleigh F.C. and former CEO of Bridle Insurance.

<i>Roker Report</i> Fanzine, blog, and podcast about football

Roker Report is an online fanzine, blog and accompanying series of podcasts and livestreams related to English football club Sunderland and the club's women's team. Roker Report has interviewed many high-profile former players and celebrities and gained significant attention among Sunderland fans during 2018 when Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven gave exclusive interviews to the podcast team after buying the club. Roker Report has performed an annual charity drive since 2019, and has raised over £120,000 for local charities.

Charles Harry Finlayson Methven is an English public relations consultant, journalist and publisher. He has also served as an English football club executive and as a part-owner at Sunderland AFC. In June 2023, he was part of a takeover deal at Charlton Athletic.

Simon Vumbaca is the principal of London-based private investment office ASV Private Office. Previously a dual-qualified lawyer, Vumbaca is a motorsports personality, non-executive director for Sunderland and formerly the British Basketball League (BBL). He was a CEO and co-founder of Pit Stop Betting until 2019, when he sold the company. He represents the Bahrain International Circuit in its negotiations in motorsports and also represented Saudi Arabia in the deal that brought Formula 1 to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.. Vumbaca is also the owner of music production company Firesound Music, who notably represent the Bunny Wailer catalogue. Bunny Wailer was a member of the legendary reggae group Bob Marley and the Wailers.

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. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "She said yes 🤠". instagram.com.
  17. ↑ https://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/sunderland-co-owner-kyril-louis-dreyfus-makes-major-life-announcement-on-social-media-4560161
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.