Succession: Bernard Tapie, the cost of fortune – Liberation

Bernard Tapie died in his private mansion in the rue des Saints-Pères (7th arrondissement of Paris) which he had bought in 1986. However, for a few months now, this elegant building with the heavy blue door no longer belonged to him. It was bought this summer by François Pinault, the sixth French fortune who owned La Redoute, Fnac, the Printemps department stores and of which the Kering company now controls the couturiers Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. The sale was signed for the sum of 80 million euros, immediately recovered by the judicial liquidators of the companies of Bernard Tapie.

Admittedly, the fallen entrepreneur had assets valued at 300 million euros but his creditors, and mainly the former Credit Lyonnais, are claiming 400 million from him. It is for this reason that the commercial court pronounced in May 2020 the judicial liquidation of its two main companies : Bernard Tapie Group (GBT) and Financial and Real Estate Bernard Tapie (FIBT). A decision contested by the person concerned and on which the court of appeal should rule in December.

In addition to his mansion, Bernard Tapie was also the owner of a villa in Saint-Tropez: the Mandala, valued between 50 and 70 million euros and a house in Combs-la-Ville (Seine-et-Marne) which would be worth 10 million. Finally, his actions in the Marseille press group Provence could be valued at 50 million euros according to his entourage. On the other hand, he no longer owns a yacht (the reborn sold in 2014 for 44 million euros) or private jet. Both were sold in order to limit as much as possible the maintenance costs of its heritage, according to a relative of the deceased businessman. For his part, his wife, Dominique Tapie, through the company Dolol, owns a mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), bought for more than 15 million euros.

To accept or not the succession

In order to avoid the sale of his property, Bernard Tapie had offered his creditors a recovery plan that they did not accept. A major question will therefore arise for his wife and his four children: whether or not to accept the inheritance, given the financial risks it entails, if the judicial liquidation of all the assets is indeed confirmed. His descendants could finally choose to accept the succession “under benefit of inventory”, so as to take the time to assess the consequences of an agreement or a refusal. The management of current legal cases should fall to Laurent Tapie, one of the two sons, already very invested in the heritage and the ongoing proceedings of his father.