Jean-Claude Decaux

Jean-Claude Decaux
Born 15 September 1937 (1937-09-15)
Beauvais, France
Died 27 May 2016 (2016-05-28) (aged 78)
Residence Paris, France
Nationality French
Occupation Founder and CEO, JCDecaux
Net worth $6.2 billion
Children 3

Jean-Claude Decaux (15 September 1937 – 27 May 2016)[1] was a French entrepreneur who earned his fortune in advertising.[2][3] He was the founder and honorary chair of the advertising firm JCDecaux, which is now run by his sons, Jean-François Decaux and Jean-Charles Decaux.[2][3]

Personal life

Jean-Claude Decaux was the son of a shoe salesman in Beauvais, France.[4]

He was married with three children and lived in Paris.[5]

His death was announced on 27 May 2016.[6][7]

Career

At the age of 18, inspired by an argument with his father over the family shoe store's window display, Jean-Claude started a business creating billboards along French roadways.[4] In 1963, legislation in France placed restrictions on billboard use which forced Decaux out of business.[8] He founded JCDecaux in 1964.[9] He made a deal with the city of Lyon, proposing that he would build bus shelters and keep them clean in exchange for advertising space there. The company quickly expanded to other cities.[10]

In 1980, Decaux personally designed the Sanisette public toilet, a self-cleaning public toilet, as a replacement for the pissoirs of Paris.[4][11]

In January 2015, according to Forbes, he had a net worth of $6.2 billion.[5]

See also

References

  1. Jean-Claude Decaux, père de l'Abribus et roi de l'affichage publicitaire, est mort (in French)
  2. 1 2 Forbes profile
  3. 1 2 BusinessWeek
  4. 1 2 3 Peter Hellman (May 3, 1993). "The Toilet Wars". New York Magazine: 42.
  5. 1 2 "Jean-Claude Decaux". Forbes. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/27/news/companies/jean-claude-decaux-dies/
  7. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-27/outdoor-advertising-pioneer-jean-claude-decaux-dies-at-78
  8. "History of JCDecaux S.A."
  9. Tina Grant (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. 76. p. 213.
  10. Roger Parry. The Ascent of Media: From Gilgamesh to Google via Gutenberg.
  11. Clara Greed. Inclusive Urban Design: Public Toilets. p. 80.
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