See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JADA BAS, REPORTER Published: 09:06 BST, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 09:44 BST, 5 June 2026
A French billionaire is seeking to change an inheritance law so that his children get nothing.Pierre-Édouard Stérin, 52, is a tech businessman who made his riches with the Smartbox gift-voucher empire and has an estimated net worth of €1.4bn (£1.2bn).The father-of-five made the plea during a Senate inquiry into private money and political influence on Thursday.He told the Senate he would rather leave his fortune to charity because he believes inherited wealth is bad for children.Mr Stérin said: 'I don't want to ruin my children, I don't want to give them a cent... It's a real freedom to start with nothing in life.'In France, under the Napoleonic Code children are considered 'reserved heirs'. Three or more offspring are entitled to at least three quarters of inheritance, while just having one child would allow them half and two children would obtain two thirds. Then only whatever is left can be passed on to a spouse or charity. The law was introduced to stop family wealth being passed down entirely to the eldest child and instead create a fairer distribution of wealth among siblings. Pierre-Édouard Stérin, 52, is a French billionaire is seeking to change an inheritance law so that his children get nothing (pictured making the plea during a Senate inquiry on Thursday)But the billionaire, who lives in Belgium as a tax exile, has argued that it should be his choice where his wealth is distributed and added that France's inheritance law hinders personal freedom.Speaking on a video call at the inquiry, he said: 'I am in favour of being able to do whatever one wants with one's patrimony.'I would like to give my entire estate to philanthropic causes.' If Mr Stérin cannot get the law changed his children would be set to automatically inherit hundreds of millions.The tech mogul was known to once have used a spreadsheet to determine if his future wife was attractive, shared his Catholic faith and was willing to have a large family. The father, who is funding the hard-Right in the country, was asked by the French senators about a project he is involved in called Périclès, which aims to push France towards what he called a 'liberal conservative Right-wing policy'.The project will fund think tanks, training programmes and civic groups rather than political parties. Critics argue that this could blur the line between influencing public opinion and indirectly financing political campaigns, potentially conflicting with French campaign-finance rules. Mr Stérin insisted: 'I do not do it out of self-interest,' saying he wanted to be 'useful' and that he preferred business, where his 'principal talent' was 'making money'.He went on to say that although he is 'at the centre of the Right', he is 'to the Right of the far-Right' on immigration issues and believes foreign criminals, illegal migrants and foreigners unemployed for more than 12 months should be 'remigrated'.
