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Max-Hervé George

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Max-Hervé George
Born (1989-03-28) March 28, 1989 (age 35)
Metz, France
NationalityFrench
OccupationEntrepreneur

Max-Hervé George (born March 28, 1989) is a French billionaire entrepreneur and property developer, Chairman and CEO of Icona Capital and co-founder and former CEO of Ultima Capital Group.[1] George originally from Metz (France), and after a period in Switzerland,[2][3] he is now based in London, UK.[4][5]

He is also known for managing a rare financial investment instrument life insurance contract "à cours connu", and his associated long-running legal fight with insurer Aviva.[6][7][8][9]

Early life and education

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George is the youngest in the family, born March 1989, and grew up in Metz, France with his brother and sister.[10] From a very young age George showed great interest in economics and finance.[3]

After completing his baccalauréat in economics at the Institut Pilâtre de Rozier in 2008, George went on to study law at University of Paris X. He left university in 2010 to focus on his first business ventures in real estate investments and private equity.[11][12]

Professional career

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Ultima Capital

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In 2012, he co-founded Ultima Capital with Byron Baciocchi,[13] the company has assets valued at over $1 billion in value.[14]

In the same year, the Ultima Group acquired Sport Hotel Rutti in Gstaad, a jet-set favourite ski resort in Switzerland.[15][16] The property was demolished and rebuilt as Ultima Gstaad hotel, which opened in December 2016.[17][18][19]

In August 2019, Ultima Capital SA listed on the BX Swiss stock exchange, with George remaining as CEO.[20][21] In November 2023, George sold his 33% stake in Ultima Capital to a Luxembourgian investment group, with the enterprise value of the deal estimated at $1.4 billion.[22]

George is also the founder and chairman of Icona Capital, which at the end of 2022 acquired a 40% stake in Swiss real estate developer Stoneweg and launched a €8 billion investment platform.[23][24][25]

George purchased land, near Geneva, Switzerland and designed, developed and oversaw the construction to completion and launch of a commercial complex, which was sold in 2015.[26] In 2015, George launched the Duchessa brand.[27][28] The first boutique opened in Etoy in June 2016.[28] Duchessa was sold to Geneva-based M3 Groupe in 2021.[29]

George participated in several acquisitions including 20% of an independent Swiss private bank, and with two acquisitions in the real estate sector carried out in 2021: Liffey Park Technology Campus in Ireland acquired from Blackrock[30] and a former bottling plant in Spain.[31]

Business profile

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In 2019, George appeared on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and featured on the cover of Forbes.[32][33][34]

In June 2020, George has been described as one of the top prominent young entrepreneurs in Europe and has reportedly directly and indirectly participated in transactions in the billions of Euros and featured in the top 100 successful young people and the 300 richest by Swiss magazine Bilan.[34] In 2022, prior to his sale of Ultima, George's personal fortune was reported to be estimated at between 400 million and 500 million euros.[35][36]

George is a partner of the International Judo Federation (IJF). He was present at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo alongside Marius Vizer, President of the IJF, and he presented the medals in the Judo Men Heavyweight category.[37] He was pictured with HSH Albert II and French President Emmanuel Macron.[38]

Aviva Lawsuit

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As of 2017, he has been fighting Aviva for 10 years, 15 if the years fought by his parents are taken into account.[39]

By 2015, up to 50 court decisions had been rendered against Aviva France. In September 2014, the French Supreme court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled in favor of the George family, determining that the life insurance contracts, as drafted with the "known price" clause, are legally binding under French law.[40] Nevertheless, George is still in court against Aviva, having won on the principle of the legality of the contracts, he now needs to have his prejudice recognized and valued in a second ongoing battle.[2]

It is reported that at least 30 other people are in litigation with Aviva, with the possibility of thousands of similar contracts existing.[9] Aviva has been repeatedly criticized for not disclosing the measure of the risks related to the "known price" contracts, "failing to show these potential losses on its books, it is also neglecting its duty to its shareholders and policyholders".[26]

On 23 February 2021, Aviva sold its French business to Aema Group.[41]

References

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  1. ^ Bernard Van de Kerckhove (23 November 2023). "L'ultra-luxe encore gagnant : Max-Hervé George vend Ultima Capital". Forbes (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Meet the man who could own Aviva France". Financial Times. Dan McCrum. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Un jeune entrepreneur français ouvre des établissements ultra luxe". Bilan (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  4. ^ "Ultima, la success story qui dérange". Tribune de Genève (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  5. ^ "Ultima, la success story qui dérange". Tribune de Genève (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  6. ^ "Aviva loses legal fight to end time-travelling risk-free investments". The Daily Telegraph. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Max-Herve George: The man fighting a merciless legal war against insurance giant Aviva". The Independent. John Lichfield. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Max-Hervé George v Aviva". The Belfast Telegraph. John Lichfield. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b "We spoke with the investor with the unbelievable 'magic ticket' that gives him 68% annual returns with no risk". Business Insider. Mike Bird. 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015.
  10. ^ Costello, Miles. "Investor confronts Aviva over '€230bn' golden ticket". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  11. ^ "This Insurance Contract Will Make You A Billionaire". Business of Finance. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  12. ^ "APACH - Ultima, la success story qui dérange". Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  13. ^ "Ultima, la success story qui dérange". Tribune de Genève (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  14. ^ "Ultima Capital SA publishes audited 2020 results reaffirming its profitable strategy and solid balance sheet" (PDF).
  15. ^ Paterson, Rosie (2019-11-09). "Gstaad, Switzerland: 'The last paradise in a crazy world', a fairytale still untouched with pistes aplenty". Country Life. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  16. ^ "Gstaad Life, 15 February 2013". issuu. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  17. ^ Assor, Constance (2018-03-06). "Ultima Gstaad, le luxe ultime". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  18. ^ "Ultima Gstaad". The Telegraph. 2017-09-06. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  19. ^ "deux investisseurs à l'assaut des cimes". Bilan. 6 December 2017.
  20. ^ France, Forbes (2019-08-08). "Ultima Capital Entre En Bourse Et Accélère Son Développement Dans L'Hospitality De Luxe". Forbes France. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  21. ^ "Team :: Ultima Capital". www.ultimacapital.com. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  22. ^ Krasuski, Konrad (19 June 2023). "Polish Developer GTC in Talks to Buy Swiss Luxury Chalets Firm". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  23. ^ Chambers, Sam (18 December 2022). "'Golden boy' Max-Hervé George strikes out into real estate after Aviva bonanza". The Times. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Stoneweg and Icona Ally to Create a Shared €8 Billion Platform". International Business Times. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. ^ Ménage, Gaëlle (19 December 2022). "Icona Capital acquiert 40% de Stoneweg, créant une plateforme totalisant 8 milliards d'euros d'actifs (exclusif)". Forbes (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  26. ^ a b "One young man's merciless legal war against insurance giant Aviva". The Independent. 2015-04-10. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  27. ^ "Duchessa SA - Restaurants et boutiques de saveurs". Duchessa - Store concept (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  28. ^ a b "Un jeune entrepreneur français ouvre des établissements ultra luxe". Bilan (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  29. ^ "Le groupe M3 se redimensionne et n'ouvrira pas ses restaurants avant juin". Bilan (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  30. ^ "BlackRock, Michael O'Flynn agree to sell Liffey Park Business Campus for €100M". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  31. ^ "Stoneweg acquires former Coca-Cola bottling plant for Madrid logistics development". www.propertyfundsworld.com. 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  32. ^ "Max-Hervé George". Forbes (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  33. ^ "LEGACY BUILDER". Forbes (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  34. ^ a b "100 jeunes qui réussissent". Bilan (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  35. ^ Berger, Benjamin; de Weck, Julien; Rudaz, Mathieu (29 November 2022). "Max-Hervé George - 300 Plus Riches | Bilan". Bilan (in French). Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  36. ^ Treguier, Eric (25 November 2022). "Wertheimer, Castel, Drahi, Bahadourian… Les exilés français en Suisse de plus en plus riches". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Welcoming Judo Friends: Day 7". www.ijf.org. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  38. ^ "New Judo Family Member, Max-Hervé George". www.ijf.org. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  39. ^ "Financial Times" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-12-01.
  40. ^ Dakers, Marion (2015-03-19). "Aviva loses legal fight to end time-travelling risk-free investments". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  41. ^ "Aviva sells French arm for e3.2 billion". 23 February 2021.
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