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Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died this Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at the age of 96, leaves behind him considerable financial assets. If it is very difficult to precisely define the fortune amassed by the former leader of the far-right throughout his life, what is certain is the origin of this wealth. And to understand how the Le Pen family became so rich, we have to go back almost fifty years earlier, to 1976…
What is the origin of Jean-Marie Le Pen's colossal fortune?
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The disappearance of Jean-Marie Le Pen, this Tuesday January 7, 2025, at the age of 96will undoubtedly put the spotlight on what some media have nicknamed “the Le Pen treasure”. If it is difficult to estimate the exact amount of fortune left behind by the founder of the FN, what is certain is thatthis is a considerable heritage. But the most surprising thing is undoubtedly the origin of the fortune of the former leader of the far-right, who marked the history of the Fifth Republic despite a controversial career. And to understand how Jean-Marie Le Pen built such a financial empire, sheltering several generations, we have to go back almost fifty years ago, to 1976.
That year, Jean-Marie Le Pen indeed inherited the fortune of Hubert Lambert at the head of a family cement factory. The man, who did not have children, decided to bequeath around 30 million francs to the political leader, in whom he saw a future head of state. Hubert Lambert had supported Jean-Marie Le Pen in his first political battles and the two men had become very close. “When the FN was founded in 1972, [Hubert] Lambert began to attend several meetings of what at the time was only a micro-party, a small group. explained on October 4, 2022 to West France Olivier Beaumont, the author of the book Montretout's hell. “Very quickly, Jean-Marie Le Pen became infatuated with this personality and a friendship was born between him and Hubert Lambert. The latter then went on to supply the coffers of the National Front in a hard and fast manner at their beginnings.”
He inherited a mansion in Saint-Cloud
When he wrote his will, the entrepreneur and essayist, who died at the age of 42, decided to donate his fortune to the man who would become the first far-right leader to qualify for the second round of the presidential election in 2002. Hubert Lambert notably gave the founder of the FN a huge mansion in Saint-Cloud: the famous Montretout manor. A residence which will quickly become the headquarters of the Le Pen clan. “Very quickly, he will use it to make his political office”continued the author Olivier Beaumont to West France. “Jean-Marie Le Pen's office is located on the first floor of the house, right next to the bedroom. This is where we see the mix of genres among the Le Pens. Moreover, his first wife Pierrette often complained. She was still in her bathrobe when she met FN executives.”
A close friend of the entrepreneur felt wronged by this bequest to Jean-Marie Le Pen at the time, but the dispute was ultimately settled amicably and the leader was able to grow his fortune. A fortune which, still, is surrounded by many mysteries. On December 21, 2015, the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP), which had examined the property situations established in 2014 of Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen, then French deputies in the European Parliament, had issued “serious doubts” quant “completeness, accuracy and sincerity” of these statements. The HATVP had mentioned a “clear undervaluation of certain jointly held real estate assets” by the father and his daughter, and “the omission of movable property by Jean-Marie Le Pen”. An investigation had been opened. These statements aroused the anger of the two political figures, who also took legal action.
