Édouard-Jean Empain
| Édouard-Jean Empain | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Édouard-Jean Empain 7 October 1937 Budapest, Hungary |
| Residence | Paris, France |
| Nationality | French-Belgian |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Title | Baron |
| Spouse(s) | Silvana Betuzzi (1957–1978) Jacqueline Ragonaux (m. 1990) |
| Children | 3 |
Édouard-Jean, 3rd Baron Empain (born 7 October 1937), is a French-Belgian industrialist, best known by the general public for his kidnapping in 1978.
Between 1969 and 1981, Baron Empain was CEO of the Schneider group (Schneider-Empain). The Baron is the son of Jean, 2nd Baron Empain, and the grandson of Édouard Louis Joseph, 1st Baron Empain. He married the Italian Silvana Betuzzi in 1957 by whom he has two daughters and a son, they were divorced shortly after Empain's kidnapping. He lives in the suburbs of Paris with his second wife Jacqueline (née Ragonaux), a former model, whom he married in 1990.
At the time of his kidnapping, Édouard-Jean Empain was the 40-year-old heir to a substantial fortune, a notable industrialist and director of the Schneider group since 1969. He was one of France's captains of industry, heading a group that comprised almost 150 companies, 130.000 employees with an annual turnover of 25 billion francs. Notable members of the Schneider Group included Framatome (nuclear reactors), Creusot-Loire (metallurgy) and Spie Batignolles (construction).
His kidnapping profoundly affected him and he declared that he has never been the same since.
On Monday, January 23, 1978, at approximately 10:30am, Édouard-Jean, 3rd Baron Empain, was picked up as usual from his Parisian home at 33 Avenue Foch, a prestigious address in the 16th arrondissement, a stones throw from the Arc de Triomphe.
The Baron's chauffeured car, a Peugeot 604, was intercepted at a junction some 50 metres after it had left his home. A moped slid across the road, faking an accident in order to bring his car to a halt next to a parked van. Once the car had stopped several armed men removed the driver from the vehicle and bundled him into the van, while the Baron was quickly handcuffed and the kidnappers made off in his car. The Baron's car was found some hours later in an underground parking structure but contained no usable fingerprints.
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Wikipedia