Bernard Tapie

Bernard Tapie was born into a working-class family in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Emerging as a self-made business magnate in the 1970s and 1980s by buying bankrupt companies and reviving them, he acquired sports brand Adidas in 1990 and turned it back into global profitability. As charismatic president of Olympique de Marseille from 1986 to 1994, he brought the club four consecutive French Ligue 1 titles and the 1993 UEFA Champions League victory—the only Champions League won by a French club.

Entering politics with the backing of President François Mitterrand, Tapie was elected to the National Assembly and served as Minister of City Affairs (1992–1993), famed for his fiery television debates confronting Jean-Marie Le Pen. His career faced dramatic legal reversals, including prison time in the VA-OM match-fixing scandal and decades of litigation over the sale of Adidas, yet he remained a beloved pop-cultural figure in Marseille until his death.