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Salma Hayek is not married to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault

Topline

Actress Salma Hayek revealed this week that she does not have a prenuptial agreement dividing assets between herself and her mega-billionaire husband François-Henri Pinault, but told the Wall Street Journal that she is on a mission to make a fortune of her own do and feel under pressure. Pressure to make a certain amount of money.

Important facts

Hayek, 58, married her husband Pinault, 62, in 2009 after a three-year relationship and was immediately whisked away into the world of the super-rich (Pinault heads the luxury group Kering and is worth more than $20 billion).

The couple share a daughter, 17-year-old Valentina, and keep their finances separate, Hayek told The Wall Street Journal Magazine.

The actress said she has not entered into a marriage with Pinault and is working to support “many aspects of my life and myself” with the goal of making more money in the future than her husband finds “kind of sexy.”

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Surprising fact

Both Hayek and Pinault originally come from wealthy backgrounds — their father was an oil executive and Pinault inherited the retail conglomerate from his father — but Hayek said living among the super-rich has brought money to the forefront in ways she didn't expect would have. “For me, the exciting thing about having a lot of money was that I didn't have to think about money, and it turned out that people just wanted to talk to me about money,” Hayek told WSJ Magazine.

Important background

Pinault inherited a retail conglomerate called Pinault-Printemps-Redoute from his father in 2005 and has since transformed it into Kering, a luxury conglomerate that owns brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. The $21.2 billion company (2023 sales) also owns the Girard-Perregaux watch brand. In addition to Kering, Pinault is president of the investment firm Group Artémis and the family owns the auction house Christie's, the talent agency Creative Artists Agency, the Château Latour winery in France and a 3,000-piece art collection including works by Picasso, Mondrian and Koons. Hayek is Pinault's second wife and Valentina is his fourth child. He has two children with his first wife, Dorothée Lepère, and one with supermodel Linda Evangelista, whom he dated for less than six months in 2005.

Forbes rating

Pinault was the 99th richest person in the world as of Wednesday, with an estimated net worth of $20.6 billion.

tangent

In addition to major acting roles in films such as “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” and “Frida,” which made her the first Mexican actress nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Hayek Ventanarosa has directed productions since 1999. The company's credits include “Ugly Betty,” “Santa Evita” and “Frida,” which was nominated for six Academy Awards. Hayek has also signed endorsement deals with brands such as Revlon, Avon Cosmetics, Cartier and Kahlúa. Hayek has also embarked on several philanthropic missions – she founded the Kering Foundation with her husband, which supports women's causes such as combating gender-based violence and sexual abuse, and in 2013 founded Gucci Chime for Change with Beyoncé, which advocates for gender equality .

Further reading

Salma Hayek Pinault has redefined Hollywood. Now she's redefining philanthropy. (WSJ Magazine)

Billionaire Francois Pinault is now the majority shareholder in Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg's Hollywood agency (Forbes)

Interview: Salma Hayek talks about “bliss”, her character and more. (Forbes)

Day in the life: Hanging out with feminist icons like Gloria Steinem and Salma Hayek (Forbes)