French Billionaire, Francois-Henri Pinault Pledges To Donate $113 Million To Rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral
- Francois-Henry Pinault, French Billionaire has pledged to donate approx. $113 million to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral.
- The French entrepreneur and his family announced the help in a statement after the historic cathedral was destroyed by a fire on Monday.
- Around 400 firefighters fight to bring the blazes under control by early Tuesday morning.
Mexican actress Salma Hayek's billionaire husband François-Henri Pinault has pledged nearly $113 million to help rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after it was devastated by fire Monday, 15th April.
Pinault and the family have decided to help to rebuild the iconic Paris church that was originally constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. A ma s sive fire almost engulfed the cathedral on Monday evening.
French newspaper Le Figaro obtained a statement released by the 56-year-old entrepreneur where he said:
My father (Francois Pinault) and myself have decided to release a sum of €100 million from our Artemis funds (the family holding company) to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre-Dame
According to the sources, Pinault is the CEO of Kering, which owns luxury brands including Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent. Pinault's father Francois has an estimated net worth of $37.3 billion.
After the news of the fire at Notre Dame broke, actress Hayek took to her Instagram revealing she was shocked and saddened to witness the beauty of the cathedral.
The 2/3 of the roof of the 850-year-old Gothic cathedral was destroyed in the fire. Around 400 firefighters battled the blazes that caught the historic church Monday afternoon and the firefighter confirmed they took the fire under control by early Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for the French firefighters said the fire was completely under control and there were still residual fires to put out. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Gallet, Paris fire chief told the firefighters managed to save the cathedral's landmark rectangular towers.
