“I Was Born Into Another World”: Billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus

Orphaned at the age of seven in the USSR, she became one of the wealthiest women in France. The story of Margarita Louis-Dreyfus is an incredible saga, from humble beginnings to billions. Discover the exceptional journey of this businesswoman who built an empire, proving that nothing is impossible.

Orphaned at just seven years old, she is now one of the wealthiest people in France. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus’s story reads like a novel . Born in the Soviet Union into a modest family, she faced hardship from a very young age before rising, years later, to the head of the Louis Dreyfus empire. Long presented as the discreet wife of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, former owner of Olympique de Marseille, she has become, over the years, an indispensable businesswoman, at the head of a fortune estimated at several billion euros.

While she maintains a very low profile in the media, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus opened up about her childhood on the Swiss podcast Lunches with Legends . Her memories reveal an extraordinary life story. ” I was born in another world, almost on another planet, ” says the woman born Margarita Bogdanova in the USSR. At just seven years old, she lost both her parents and was raised by her grandfather, an engineer, with very limited resources. This period would profoundly shape her character.” From a very young age, I had to support my family,” she recalls. After studying economics, she managed to leave the Soviet Union in 1985 and settled in Switzerland, where she worked in import-export. A few years later, her life changed dramatically: on a flight between Zurich and London, she met Robert Louis-Dreyfus . A story that has become almost legendary recounts that the businessman caught her eye by showing her photos of his dog.After the death of her husband Robert Louis-Dreyfus, she took over the reins of the family empire

When Robert Louis-Dreyfus died in 2009 from leukemia, many assumed his widow would remain in the background. Not so. Determined to defend the interests of her three sons and preserve the family legacy , Margarita Louis-Dreyfus engaged in a long battle with a faction of the Louis-Dreyfus family. Two years later, she became president of Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the world’s leading agricultural trading companies. The following years were marked by several financial challenges and a profound restructuring of the group, notably with the entry of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ into its capital in 2021. While she no longer oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, she remains the majority shareholder and chairs its supervisory board. According to Challenges magazine, her fortune and that of her children is estimated at over €5 billion.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, a billionaire now dedicated to humanitarian work

At 64, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus now devotes much of her time to her philanthropic endeavors. Deeply involved with the Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, she supports projects aimed at combating hunger and poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 2024, she also created the Human Change Foundation, which brings together health and neuroscience specialists to study the effects of screens on young people and to raise awareness among families and public authorities. Rarely seen in the media, she now prefers to let her actions speak for themselves. It’s an exceptional trajectory for someone who, starting from nothing in the former USSR, has become one of the most powerful and wealthiest women in France.