Xavier Niel

Type: person Last Updated: 2026-02-16 Status: Active Research Sessions: 1

Executive Summary

Xavier Niel is a French billionaire entrepreneur ($14.2B net worth as of Jan 2026), founder of Iliad/Free telecom (France's second-largest ISP). He is a major European tech ecosystem builder through 42 coding school (€70M, tuition-free, 30+ countries), Station F (world's largest startup incubator), and Kima Ventures (1,450 portfolio companies, 17 unicorns). Notable board seats include ByteDance (only European) and KKR. His past includes a controversial 2004 jail stint for alleged pimping (charges dropped).

Facts

Early Life & Background

• Born August 25, 1967 in France — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Father was pharmaceutical lawyer, mother an accountant (middle-class) — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Created X-rated chat rooms and France's first reverse directory at age 16 on Apple II — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Spent a month in jail in 2004 for alleged pimping (charges dropped) and tax evasion — Source: https://medium.com/@baranserhatozer/from-jail-to-the-boardroom-xavier-niels-shocking-rise-to-power-3c06b7511c4 (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Convicted of concealing misuse of corporate funds — Source: https://medium.com/@baranserhatozer/from-jail-to-the-boardroom-xavier-niels-shocking-rise-to-power-3c06b7511c4 (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Iliad & Free Telecom

• Co-founded France's first ISP in 1993 — Source: https://tradersunion.com/persons/xavier-niel/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Created Free in 1999 (France's first free-access ISP) — Source: https://tradersunion.com/persons/xavier-niel/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Co-invented Triple Play; launched Freebox in 2002 — Source: https://tradersunion.com/persons/xavier-niel/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Iliad generates ~€10B annual revenue — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Took Iliad private in 2021; now owns 96% — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Weighing full buyout of Millicom (already owns 29% stake) — Source: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/iliad-founder-xavier-niel-weighs-up-full-buyout-of-millicom/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Tech Ecosystem Building

• Founded 42 coding school in 2013 — €70M investment (€20M creation + €50M for 10-year operations) — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(school) (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• 42: tuition-free, no teachers, no books, peer-to-peer learning — Source: https://qz.com/1054412/a-french-billionaires-free-teacher-less-university-is-designing-thousands-of-future-proof-employees (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• 42 campuses now in 30+ countries — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(school) (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Station F (2017): 370,000 sq ft startup incubator, 1,000 startups/year, 11,000 annual applicants — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Kima Ventures (2010): seeds 120+ founders/year at ~€15M annually; 1,450 portfolio companies; 17 unicorns — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Investments & Board Seats

• Stakes in Uber, Airbnb, Square — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• KKR board member — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• ByteDance board member (only European on 5-person board, joined Sept 2024) — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Co-owner of Le Monde newspaper — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Owner of Monaco Telecom, Salt Mobile, Eir — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Co-owner of "My Way" song rights — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: MEDIUM) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

AI Investments (2023-2026)

• Invested €100M (2023) to launch Kyutai nonprofit AI research lab — partnered with Eric Schmidt and Rodolphe Saadé — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Iliad allocated €3B for AI data centers and open-source AI research in Europe — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• French officials tapped Niel to acquire stake in EDF subsidiary Exaion (MARA deal) — Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/french-officials-tap-billionaire-xavier-161841435.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Wealth & Recognition

• Net worth: ~$14.2B (January 2026) — Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/xavier-b-niel/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Wired: 7th most influential personality in technology worldwide (Aug 2015) — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Vanity Fair: most influential French person abroad (Feb 2017) — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Close relationship with President Emmanuel Macron — Source: https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Related Entities

• Scaleway - Founder (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Iliad - Founder, majority owner (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Free (telecom) - Founder (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• 42 School - Founder (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Station F - Founder (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Kima Ventures - Founder (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• ByteDance - Board member (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• KKR - Board member (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Le Monde - Co-owner (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Sources

1. https://fortune.com/europe/2025/06/03/this-hacker-turned-telecom-mogul-could-be-europe-tech-savior-xavier-niel-stationf-ai-lvmh/ - Fortune profile
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Niel - Wikipedia
3. https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/xavier-b-niel/ - Bloomberg Billionaires
4. https://tradersunion.com/persons/xavier-niel/ - TradersUnion profile
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(school) - 42 School Wikipedia

Research History

• 2026-02-16: Initial research covering biography, Iliad/Free, 42/Station F, investments, AI, wealth (1 iteration, 10+ sources)