Portrait of Jean-Michel Besnier

Rank #396

Jean-Michel Besnier

Net worth $8.9B

Cheese · France

Born
Jun 05, 1967
Age
58
Source
Cheese
Residence
Laval
Citizenship
France
Marital status
Children
0
Education

Net worth over time

Biography

  • Dairy heir Jean-Michel Besnier owns an estimated 21% of French dairy giant Lactalis, based in his family's ancestral hometown of Laval in western France.
  • His grandfather founded the company in 1933, and his older brother Emmanuel now runs the firm as CEO and majority shareholder.
  • Lactalis sells $30 billion of products including President brie, Milkmaid yogurts and Valbreso Feta.
  • The biggest dairy producer in Europe, Lactalis continues to expand internationally in places like China and Southeast Asia.