Hours after devastating fire, French billionaire donates 100 million euros to rebuild Notre Dame

This Monday, French billionaire François-Henri Pinault announced that he and his family will donate 100 million euros to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral after it was severely damaged in a fire that tore through its structure, toppling its iconic spire, BuzzFeed News reports.

“My father [François Pinault] and I have decided to release as of now from the funds of Artemis a sum of 100 million euros to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre Dame,” Pinault wrote in a statement.

Pinault is the chair and CEO of Kering, which includes Gucci and Saint Laurent. He’s also the president of the French holding company Groupe Artémis. His pledge comes after French president Emmanuel Macron announced the launch of a national fundraising campaign designed to collect the funds necessary for the restoration.

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“We will rebuild,” Macron said. “We will rebuild Notre Dame because this is what the French expect, because this is what our history deserves, because it is our destiny.”

Before the fire broke out, the spire was in the midst of a multi-million dollar renovation project to fix water damage that had accumulated over the centuries.

Speaking to reporters, a French firefighter official said that the main structure of the cathedral has been saved along with the two iconic main towers.

Speaking to ABC News, the Notre Dame Paris office said that a fire alarm test conducted last week went according to plan.

Featured image: Flickr

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.