Bernard Magrez, Prince of vineyards

Owner of 37 of the finest vineyards in the world, Bernard Magrez lives an unostentatious business prince’s life at his private mansion in the heart of Bordeaux. His promising debuts date back to the 1960s, when he acquired William Pitters, a small wines-and-spirits business, and created the Malesan brand which, over the course of the next 15 years, became the first worldwide Bordeaux wine trader. “Luck and the development of mass marketing were on my side,” he admits. Since then, he has progressively turned to the vineyards elite: classified wines. Château La Tour Carnet, Pape Clément, Fombrauge, Tour Blanche, Poumey, all testify to his high standards. “Soil is what matters most. Good wine growers only enhance it.” Besides his activity in the Bernard Magrez Grands Vignobles group (valued at €645m, 100% owned by his family), his philanthropy and passion for all artistic forms have led this “rare wines composer” to the Cultural Institute Bernard Magrez, which he founded two years ago. His various properties welcome artists’ residences, prestigious painting exhibitions and a literary prize for young writers.

© DR