Claude Bébéar, figure of French capitalism and founder of the insurer Axa, has died

He created the Montaigne Institute to promote the defense of capitalism in public debate

He is a figure in the French economic community who is disappearing. Claude Bébéar, founder of Axa, died at the age of 90, the insurance group announced Tuesday, November 4, in a press release.

“With the death of Claude Bébéar, an important page in the history of French capitalism is turning. He was a visionary and conquering leader, but also a generous and demanding mentor for several generations of leaders”declared Henri de Castries, former chairman and CEO of Axa, quoted in the press release.

Claude Bébéar was born on July 29, 1935 in Isaac in Dordogne. A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique (Pet of the Paris Institute of Actuaries), he was recruited in 1958 by André Sahut d’Izarn, who headed the Anciennes Mutuelles d’assurance group in Rouen, and was looking for a future successor. He became its general director in 1975, after the death of André Sahut d’Izarn and a very tough strike, before taking over the presidency of the group in 1982, which became Axa in 1985.

Over the years, Bébéar’s method for growing the group was a series of acquisitions, several of which followed tough negotiations, as in the case of the Union des assurances de Paris (UAP). In May 2000, Claude Bébéar left the presidency of the Axa management board to Henri de Castries and became president of the supervisory board, a position he retained until 2013. He then became honorary president of Axa and was also honorary president of the Institut Montaigne, an independent political think tank that he created and chaired.