Who Is Salma Hayek’s Husband François-Henri Pinault?
Earlier this year, actress Salma Hayek received criticism over her marriage to billionaire businessman François-Henri Pinault. Haters accused her of marrying for money, but the Like A Boss star shut down the nasty comments about her and her husband.
“You know the thing is that in pictures you cannot begin to guess the magic in him,” she told host Dax Shepard on his podcast, Armchair Expert. “He’s made me become a much better person, and grow in such a good, healthy way.”
The power couple married in 2009, and 15 years later, Hayek says they are still “strong in love.” So who is Salma Hayek’s husband? For starters, he’s a major figure in the fashion world and represents a few brands you’ve definitely heard of. Read on for nine things you need to know about François-Henri Pinault.
He is the CEO and chairman of French luxury group Kering.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/salmaandfrancois2-3623397d94fc4596ba3cf8546bee28b7.jpg)
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
Pinault is the CEO of the luxury fashion group Kering, home to brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga. Hayek even praised her man for his hard work and incredible work-life balance. “My guy, finished work, no matter how hard it was—and trust me he has a lot of responsibilities—big smile on his face, happy to be home, happy to see me and the kids, make us laugh…They cannot begin to imagine what a joy that human being is,” she said, per People.
His father is one of the richest people in the world.
Pinault’s father, also named François, is one of the richest men in the world, landing at number 23 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Before turning the company over to his son, François was CEO of Kering when it was known as PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute). The family also owns Le Point magazine, a part of the French newspaper Le Mode, as well as French television network TF-1.
They share daughter Valentina Paloma.
The couple shares 13-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma, and the three make the cutest family. They announced they were expecting in 2007 around the same time that they announced their engagement, per Oprah Magazine.
He has three other kids from previous relationships.
Pinault was previously married and had son François and daughter Mathilde with his ex-wife. In 2006, he welcomed another son named Augustin James Evangelista with Linda Evangelista before welcoming Valentina Paloma with Hayek in 2007.
They had two weddings.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/salmaandfrancois3-d396e70d98a342258ebbd74984b962a3.jpg)
Taylor Hill / Getty Images
According to People, the couple initially tied the knot at a courthouse in Paris on Valentine’s Day in 2009 (super romantic!). They celebrated their nuptials for a second time in April 2009 in Venice, Italy, where they were joined by their celebrity friends.
He donated a lot of money to the Notre Dame Cathedral restoration efforts.
In April 2019, after a devastating fire caused much of the historical landmark to be destroyed and ruined, Pinault pledged €100 million (equivalent to over $113 million) to the reconstruction of the church. “My father and myself have decided to release a sum of €100 million from our Artemis funds (the family holding company) to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre-Dame,” he told the French newspaper Le Figaro at the time.
He started a charitable foundation in 2008.
In 2008, the businessman started the Kering Foundation, which works to defend women’s rights and advocate for victims of sexual and domestic violence around the world.
They keep their relationship pretty private.
Hayek is proud of her man but don’t expect her to be over-sharing details of their relationship. “It’s such a romantic, amazing story, but it is mine,” the actress told Town & Country in 2019. “I don’t want to vulgarize it by making it into a story to make myself interesting.”
He surprised her with a vow renewal.
In 2018, Pinault surprised his wife with a secret vow renewal during a tropical getaway in Bora Bora. The fashion exec tricked his wife into thinking they were going to a couple’s spa day!
“The summer is coming to an end and my best moment was when my husband surprised me with a vow renewal—it was not what I would have chosen to wear to my wedding but I was told I was going to the spa!” the actress wrote on Instagram.
