Jean-Charles Naouri

Jean-Charles Naouri is chairman and CEO of Casino, a French food retailer with $56 billion in sales in 2013 and more than 14,000 stores around the globe. His fortune comes mainly from his large stakes in Casino and Groupe Go Sport, a sporting goods retailer. Naouri was born in Algeria. His family returned to France in 1956, when his mother was appointed a civil servant there. He won first prizes in Latin and Greek exams in France's national high school competition and eventually earned a Ph.D. in math. He also studied economics at Harvard. He began his career as a finance auditor at the French Treasury, then served as chief of staff for Pierre Beregovoy, who then headed France's social affairs and economics ministries and later became prime minister. In 1987, Naouri became a managing partner at Rothschild & Cie Banque and started his own investment fund, Euris. The fund became the controlling shareholder in retailer Rallye in 1991 and in Casino in 1998, after the two companies merged. Naouri is also a director of Fimalac, a holding company with interests in financial services, luxury hotels and entertainment. In June 2013, he was appointed France's special representative for economic relations with Brazil.