French tycoons pledge millions for reconstruction,

Tycoons pledge money, expertise and savoir faire

PARIS— France’s luxury-goods tycoons are among the country’s wealthiest individuals and companies to pledge at least 600 million euros ($904 million) to help in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame cathedral a day after the Paris landmark was ravaged by fire.

Kicking off a wave of donations in response to a call from French President Emmanuel Macron for fundraising, François-Henri Pinault, the chair and chief executive officer of Gucciowner Kering SA, and his father, François Pinault, said Tuesday they would donate 100 million euros from their Artemis investment company.

Their archrival, the Arnault family, responded minutes later with a pledge of 200 million euros and the architectural and design resources of their LVMH fashion conglomerate.

Cosmetics company L’Oréal SA and its principal shareholder, the Bettencourt Meyers family, will give 100 million euros, while the family’s charitable foundation will chip in another 100 million euros, the company announced.

“This tragedy is striking all the French people and, beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values,” François-Henri Pinault, 56, said in a statement.

“Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as possible.”

Corporate and individual gifts poured in, along with offers of technical assistance, from France and abroad. Macron, who vowed to rebuild the 850year-old Gothic monument, called for contributions and said he would draw on the world’s best talents for the task.

Restoration of Notre Dame was already under way before the fire, with a budget of about 150 million euros, Michel Picaud, of the fundraising group the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, said in an interview on BFM TV. That may need to be tripled after the fire, he said.

Luxury fortunes dominate the upper reaches of France’s wealth landscape and are already behind some restoration projects in the city. The elder Pinault, 82, is the world’s 23rd richest person, with a fortune estimated at $37.3 billion (U.S.), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bernard Arnault, 70, is the main shareholder of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and ranks third globally and first in France with a $90.4-billion fortune. L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is the country’s second-wealthiest and the world’s richest woman with a $53.5-billion fortune.

Oil producer Total SA, France’s biggest company by sales, will contribute 100 million euros to the private non-profit Fondation du Patrimoine for the project, CEO Patrick Pouyanné said.

Construction company Vinci SA, the Duval family that owns property developer Groupe Duval, and banks BNP Paribas SA, Société Générale SA and Credit Agricole SA also said they would give.

“Vinci suggests all building companies in France should join forces to rebuild Notre Dame in an industry-wide skills sponsorship drive,” the company said in a statement, noting that the 13th-century wooden beams holding up the roof can never be replaced, while the remaining structure “must be safeguarded.”

“Clearly, money is important, but there will be many donations, and money won’t be the thing that’s missing,’’ Antoine Arnault, Bernard Arnault’s son, said. “What will be needed is something more intangible — extremely competent people with good ideas.’’

LVMH has “architectural and artistic savoir faire,” as well as expertise in art preservation because of its Louis Vuitton foundation, he said.