Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (born 30 June 1954) is a Dutch-English businesswoman and the owner of a 25% controlling interest in the world’s second-largest brewer, Heineken International. She is one of the richest women in the UK, with a net worth of $12.7 billion as of March 2017, according to Forbes.
Early life
Charlene Heineken was born on 30 June 1954, the daughter of Freddy Heineken, the Dutch industrialist, and Lucille Cummins, an American from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers. She was educated at Rijnlands Lyceum Wassenaar, followed by a law degree from the University of Leiden.
Career
She owns a 25% controlling stake in Dutch brewer Heineken, where she is also an executive director.
Personal life
She is married to Michel de Carvalho, a financier involved in NM Rothschild and Citi businesses, graduate of Harvard University, former film actor (as Michel Ray), and former Olympic luger, whom she met on a ski holiday in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He is a member of the supervisory board of Heineken NV. They reside in London with their five children.
Upon the death of her father in 2002, she inherited about £3 billion, making her the wealthiest person with (shared) Dutch citizenship. In 2013, the Sunday Times Rich List ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK placed her 10th with an estimated fortune of £7billion.
- Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is one of the richest women in the world, thanks to her 23% controlling stake in beer giant Heineken.
- Now an executive director, she inherited the Heineken stake in 2002 from her late father, longtime CEO Freddy Heineken.
- Her husband Michel, an investment banker, is on Heineken’s supervisory board.
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