Marine Le Pen’s and Emmanuel Macron’s fortunes. Who is the richest of them

The fortune of French presidential election candidates is something voters may have wondered about. How rich are Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron? Have they been truthful about their fortune? How much did the former Minister of Economy actually make at Rothschild? What does Le Pen owns? These are some of the questions we will try to answer.

In March, the High Authority for Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) issued statements of the eleven presidential candidates, which included their fortunes, as they have declared them to be. These are the statements of the two finalists:

Le Pen, a real estate investor?

Marine Le Pen owns a 633-square-meter house in the Hauts-de-Seine and another 120-square-meter house in the Pyrénées-Orientales. She also holds shares in a 120-square-meter house in the Morbihan, and another in the Hauts-de-Seine with 382 square meters.

Regarding her bank account, the candidate of the National Front posted three positive balances (5,201, 518 and 13,134 euros), after having benefited for the presidential campaign from a loan of 3.6 million euros repaid by party founder and her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Two other loans are also being repaid, in favor of Cotelec, another 5.4 million euros are still to be paid in the framework of the presidential election.

The declaration of Marine Le Pen does not mention the estimated value of the real estate fortune. It is indeed accompanied by annexes addressed to the HATVP but dimmed due to a dispute with the tax authorities.

The latter suspects an important “undervaluation” for two properties concerned, including the family manor of Montretout, in Saint-Cloud, which could result in a tax reorganization procedure, according to local press.

Emmanuel Macron doesn’t own anything

Emmanuel Macron is definitely less rich in real estate. According to his statement, he doesn’t officially own anything. Having resold his own apartment in Paris, he now lives with his wife, Brigitte Trogneux.

His declared assets consist of an investment fund in SMEs (61,516 euros), two securities accounts with its former employer Rothschild (9,100 euros) and savings accounts with Crédit Mutuel (approximately 56,500 euros). He also holds a little over 91,900 euros in life insurance, also at Crédit Mutuel.

In addition, between Envelope’s booklets, sustainable development booklets, PEL and current account, En Marche’s candidate holds a mattress of approximately 116,000 euros. In addition, he received in advance 274,000 euros for the publication of his book Revolution at the beginning of the year.

Emmanuel Macron said he still had 246,800 euros to be repaid under a loan contracted in 2011 to finance work in his wife’s house in Le Touquet, and had to pay 53,600 euros to the Public Treasury for leaving the civil service in advance.

The candidate had been questioned by his opponents. They suggested that the former banker possessed a “hidden” patrimony. Asked by the Anticor association about the “exhaustive” nature of its previous declaration of heritage (going back to 2014), the High Authority considered that there was no evidence to question the sincerity of this statement.

According to Reuters, Emmanuel Macron didn’t build up a spectacular fortune  when he worked at the Rothschild bank, between 2008 and 2012.

Emmanuel Macron told that he won a total of € 2.8 million gross at Rothschild (salaries and bonuses included). After deducting social security contributions and taxes, he would have pocketed 1.5 million euros.

That is to say 375,000 euros net of annual earnings used to cover his personal expenses, work in the house of Le Touquet (for which he has not taken out a loan) and to honor his other loans. He said he had repaid a family loan of 50,000 euros and began repaying his loan of 950,000 euros (with Crédit Mutuel and Henry Hermand) for the purchase in 2007 of his Paris apartment and 350,000 euros in 2011 (from Crédit Mutuel) to renovate the house of Le Touquet.