Marcel Boussac was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, France, Boussac made a fortune in textile manufacturing. In 1919 he acquired the Château de Mivoisin, a 36 square kilometre property located 1½ hours south of Paris in Dammarie-sur-Loing, Loiret.

Karīm al-Hussaynī, Āgā Khān IV KBE CC GCC -- (born December 13, 1936) is the current (49th) Imām of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He has been in this position, and held the title of Aga Khan, since July 11, 1957. The Ismailis are ethnically and culturally diverse and reside in over 25 countries around the world. A modern Muslim leader, the Aga Khan is responsible for the interpretation of the faith for his followers and as part of the office of the Imamate, …

Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is one of the most prestigious thoroughbred horse breeding farms in France. Located about four miles (6 km) outside of the city of Deauville on 3 km², the breeding operation was established in 1907 by the wealthy American sportsman, William Kissam Vanderbilt. He sold the property to another American horseman, A. Kingsley Macomber, whose colt War Cloud won the 1918 Preakness Stakes.

François Dupré was a French, hotelier, art collector, and owner of the Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm, Haras d'Ouilly. Dupré served in the French Army during World War I. Seriously wounded during battle, he was hospitalized for a considerable length of time. He went on to a career in business that saw him become the owner of two luxury hotels in Paris, the prestigious Hotel George V, Paris and the Hotel Plaza Athenée.

Jean-Luc Lagardere (February 10, 1928 - March 14, 2003) was a major French businessman. Jean-Luc Lagardere was a "Supelec" engineer. He began his career in Dassault Aviation. CEO of Matra in the 1960s, he became famous with success in Formula 1 and Le Mans. He later built a large media and defense conglomerate that bears his name. The Lagardere Group is among the largest French enterprises.

William Kissam Vanderbilt (December 12 1849 - July 22 1920) was a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. The second son of William Henry Vanderbilt, from whom he inherited $55 million, he was for a time active in the management of the family railroads, though not much after 1903. His sons William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878-1944) and Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884-1970) were the last to be active in the railroads, …

The Haras d'Ouilly is a renowned horse breeding farm in Pont-d'Ouilly, Calvados in the Basse-Normandie region of France established in the 19th century. The property was purchased in 1895 by Auguste-Louis-Albéric, prince d'Arenberg for his son Pierre d' Arenberg who built the stables and established it as a horse breeding operation. Haras d'Ouilly was acquired by the Louis Jean Decazes in 1916.

Princess Zahra Aga Khan (born September 18, 1970 in Geneva, Switzerland) is the eldest child of His Highness the Aga Khan. She attended Institut Le Rosey and Harvard University, from where she graduated in 1994 with a degree in Third World Development Studies. She married Mark Boyden, an Anglican, in a civil ceremony on June 21, 1997. The couple have a daughter, Sara, and a son, Ilyan. After her graduation, from Harvard University with a BA (Honours) in 1994, …

Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild, born February 1, 1827 in Paris - died May 26, 1905 in Paris, was a banker and philanthropist and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Known as Alphonse, he was the eldest son of James Mayer de Rothschild (1792-1868). His mother was Betty de Rothschild (1805-1886), the daughter of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild from the Austrian branch of the family.

Cino Del Duca (July 25, 1899 - May 24, 1967) was an Italian-born businessman film producer and philanthropist who moved to France in 1923 where he made a fortune in the French publishing business.

Fanny Heldy was a Belgian-born opera soprano. Born "'Marguerite Virginie Emma Clémentine Deceuninck" in Ath, Hainaut, Belgium, after graduating from the Liége Conservatoire, she made her debut at the La Monnaie in 1910. Between 1914 and 1918 she sang a number of major roles at Monte Carlo, …

Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 - October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and a major figure in Thoroughbred horse racing as head of New York's Belmont Park and builder of Miami, Florida's Hialeah Park racetrack. Born in Philadelphia, he was the second son of Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836 -1896) and the extremely wealthy entrepreneur Peter A. B. Widener (1834 - 1915).

Simone Del Duca was a French businesswoman, a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and major philanthropist. Married to French publishing magnate Cino Del Duca, on his death in 1967 she was left with a considerable fortune. Although she remained on the Board of Directors of her late husband's companies, Simone Del Duca devoted a great deal of her time to philanthropic causes. In 1969 she established a prestigious literary prize in her husband's name.

Daniel Leopold Wildenstein (September 11, 1917 - October 23, 2001) was a major international art dealer, collector, and scholar, as well as a leading thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder. Born in Verrieres-le-Buisson, France (just outside of Paris), Wildenstein inherited the responsibility in 1963 of running Wildenstein & Company, a five-generation family business founded in 1875 by Nathan Wildenstein (Daniel's grandfather).

Count Evremond de Saint-Alary (1868-1941) was a leading owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses in France. An Englishman who inherited considerable wealth and a title, as a young man in his twenties Saint-Alary became involved in horse racing and in the early 1890s acquired Haras de Saint Pair du Mont, a horse breeding farm at Le Cadran near Cambremer in Calvados, Normandy.

Alain Wertheimer (b.c.1949) is a French businessman based in Switzerland who, with his brother Gerard owns the controlling interest in the House of Chanel perfume company. The son of Jacques Wertheimer and Eliane Fischer, it was his grandfather Pierre who co-founded the Chanel business. The privately held company is run by Alain who has presided over the acquisition of several non-Chanel brands, including Eres Lingerie, Tanner Krolle saddles and leather goods, …

Edouard Etienne Alphonse de Rothschild is a businessman and part of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. He is the son of Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007) and Marie-Hélène van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1927-1996). Edouard de Rothschild studied law in France and in 1985 graduated with an M.B.A. degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University. In 1981 he married Mathilde Alexe Marie Christiane Coche de la Ferté (b.1952).

Baron Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild was a French banker and member of the Rothschild family. He chaired the bank Rothschild Frères from 1967 to 1979, when it was nationalized by the French government, and maintained possessions in other French and foreign companies including Imerys.

Herman B. Duryea (1862-1916) was an American thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder. Herman Duryea built an estate in Old Westbury on Long Island, New York known as "Knole". Completed in 1903, it was designed by Carrere and Hastings. In 1910 he sold the property to Henry Phipps who bought it as a wedding gift for his daughter Helen's marriage to Bradley Martin. Herman Duryea also owned a large estate in Tennessee where he bred dogs and gamecocks.

Pierre Wertheimer (January 8, 1888 - April 24, 1965) was a French businessman. In October of 1910, Pierre Wertheimer married Germaine Revel, a daughter of a stockbroker and a member of the Lazard family of investment bankers. In 1924, Pierre Wertheimer and his brother Paul became Coco Chanel's partners in the House of Chanel perfume business. Two years before, in 1922, the Chanel No.

Louis Jean Victor Sévère, 4th Duke Decazes and Duke of Glücksbierg was a French businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. Louis Jean Decazes was born in Paris. In 1912, he married Germaine Couturier (1885-1968) with whom he had five children. In 1916 he acquired the Haras d'Ouilly stud farm in Pont-d'Ouilly, Calvados. He acquired more land surrounding his property and spent a great deal of money modernizing the facilities.

Edouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (February 24, 1868 - June 30, 1949) was a French financier and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Born in Paris, Edouard de Rothschild was the only son of Baron Alphonse James de Rothschild (1827-1905). His mother was Leonora de Rothschild (1837-1911), the daughter of Lionel de Rothschild of the English branch of the family.

Jacques Guy Wertheimer was a prominent French businessman who inherited and ran the renowned House of Chanel perfume company. Jacques Wertheimer was born at the villa Les Forgettes in Deauville, the son of Germaine Revel and businessman Pierre Wertheimer who co-founded the Chanel perfume business in 1924. On March 26, 1947, Jacques Wertheimer married Eliane Fischer, the daughter of an architect. They had two sons, Alain and Gerard.

Charles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de Morny (October 21, 1811 - March 10, 1865) was a French statesman. He was the natural son of Hortense de Beauharnais (wife of Louis Bonaparte, and queen of Holland) and Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut, and therefore half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III.

Gerard Wertheimer (b.c.1950) is a French businessman based in Switzerland who owns and controls the House of Chanel perfume company in partnership with his brother, Alain. The son of Jacques Wertheimer and Eliane Fischer, it was his grandfather Pierre who co-founded the Chanel business. The privately held House of Chanel is run by Alain Wertheimer who has presided over the acquisition of several non-Chanel brands, including Eres Lingerie, …