In this success post, we are going to share the story of Xavier Niel, a French entrepreneur and businessman, active in the telecommunications and technology industry and best known as a founder and majority shareholder of the French Internet service provider and mobile operator Iliad trading under the Free brand.
He is also the co-owner of the newspaper Le Monde, and co-owner of the rights of the song “My Way” and owner of the Monaco Telecom. He, as of now, acts as a Deputy Chairman for the Iliad. His net worth is around $9 billion USD.
Xavier Niel early life and Career
Xavier Niel was born in the year 1967, in the suburbs of Paris. Niel started early by developing telecommunication and data services and embarked at a young age on an entrepreneurial career soon after his father gave him a Sinclair ZX81 computer as a birthday gift.
At the age of 19, he successfully created them sold his first company, a Minitel service company.
In the year 1999, he created a Free internet service provider. The name came from the fact that modern access was really free, which caused some stir among other French Internet providers, as well as it secured some questions about the Free’s business model.
In the year 2002, Free launched a broadband package at a low price, which became the benchmark in the market. At the same time, Free developed and launched the Freebox. The free modem service has brought the company a strong potential customer portfolio, many of them switching to the broadband for the sake of comfort.
In late 2010 Niel was a member of a group of investors who acquired a controlling stake in the newspaper Le Monde.
In the year 2012, he created Free Mobile, which revolutionizes mobile telephony in France, with a $25 plan, which includes unlimited voice calls, text, and data.
Because in the year 2013, Xavier Niel creates a school named as 42, which is a free tech school with no teachers, no books, and no tuition for 1000 people every year.
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