- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlbert Pol Oscar Ghislain Frère
- Albert Frere was born on February 4, 1926 in Fontaine-l'Évêque, Belgium. He was married to Christine Henning and Nelly Poplimont. He died on December 3, 2018 in Gerpinnes, Belgium.
- SpousesChristine Henning(1976 - December 3, 2018) (his death, 2 children)Nelly Poplimont(1949 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- In 2014 he received Knight Grand Cross in the Legion of Honour.
- At the age of 30, he started investing in Belgian steel factories and by the end of the 1970s he practically controlled the whole steel industry in the region of Charleroi. He foresaw the coming steel crisis of the late 1970s and sold his enterprises to the Belgian state after merging them with the competing steel firm Cockerill to create Cockerill-Sambre.
- He was a co-owner, together with Bernard Arnault of LVMH, of the Château Cheval Blanc winery near Bordeaux.
- Frère grew up as a son of a nail merchant and helped in the business since an early age. His father died when Frère was 17; Frère had to leave school and run the family business by himself.
- He was the richest man in Belgium.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content