Claude Bébéar

Claude Bébéar (29 July 1935 – 4 November 2025) was a French businessman. He was a onetime CEO of AXA.

Claude Bébéar was born in Issac, France on 29 July 1935. He graduated from the Lycée Saint-Louis and the École Polytechnique. Bébéar was trained at the Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School in Saumur and did his military service in Algeria. He then received a diploma from the Institute of Actuaries of France.

Bébéar started his career at Anciennes Mutuelles, up until he became CEO after André Sahut d'Izarn's death in 1975. In 1985, it became known as AXA.

He helped out Jean-Marie Messier from Vivendi. He was involved in the ousting of the chairmen of Rhodia.

Bébéar was a member of the board of directors of Vivendi, BNP Paribas and Schneider Electric, and was a member of Le Siècle. He was also Chairman of the Institut du mécénat de solidarité and the Institut Montaigne.

Bébéar was a Roman Catholic, widowed with three children, two of whom were adopted from South Korea. In 2007, he was worth €106 million.

Bébéar died in France on 4 November 2025, at the age of 90.