Christian and Oliver Courtin-Clarins, who are French entrepreneurs, have a combined worth of $2.2 billion.
The Courtin-Clarins brothers are the rightful inheritors of the Clarins Group, a luxurious cosmetic enterprise based in France.
In 1954, Jacques Courtin, their father who was a chiropractor, opened the first spa in a Paris suburb, where he created a skin-firming massage oil that quickly gained popularity.
The company’s success was only at the end of the 70s, prompting Courtin to add the company’s name, Clarins, to his surname.
From a small massage table, Clarins developed into a vast cosmetic empire, possessing the fragrance divisions of prominent jewelers like Swarovski and David Yurman, and 85% of Thierry Mugler’s stock. Currently, Clarins is an international powerhouse with over 8,800 employees worldwide, and was awarded first place for face skin care products in Europe and first for body skin care products in the world in 2012.
With an MBA degree from Ecole SS Economic and Commercal, Dr.
Since 1990, Oliver Courtin-Clarins has been a member of the Board of Directors at the company and has been doing so since 1998.
The Chief Research Officer and Managing Director of Clarins is Olivier, while his brother Christian is the Chairman and CEO.
In an effort to take Clarins private, the brothers’ pair spent $3.6 billion in 2008, leading to the company’s removal from the Paris Stock Exchange, and they now own 100% of the Clarins Group.
Claire, Virginie, Jenna, and Prisca, the daughters of the Courtin-Clarins brothers, joined the Supervisory Board after two years.