Or when the world offinance finally opens its eyes to its shareholders.
Since the emergence ofthe #MeToo movement in 2017, the world has changed dramatically. Whether in film, music, sports, media, or politics, many industries have had to introspect and shift their paradigms. Of course, everything is far from perfect, but all these components ofour society are striving to evolve towards a more inclusive world.
All ofthem? No! Because one sector, populated by die-hard reactionaries, still resists change. Six years after the first waves ofdenunciations on
social media, the world offinance has been relatively spared from various scandals. Sensing the changing tide, some financial institutions have decided to take the initiative and clean house among their wealthy contributors.
Between France, Luxembourg, and the United States, Stéphane* manages one ofthese investment funds that has decided to become more ethical and more rigorous in its choice ofshareholders. “Perhaps it’s time for finance to get its act together and no longer tolerate intolerable behavior,” he says.
“THE KING OF HOMOPHOBIC, RACIST, ANTI-SEMITIC, AND MISOGYNISTIC REMARKS”
After conducting its internal audit, the group decided to part ways with Xavier Del Marmol, a highly problematic Belgian baron. “My boss fired him because the guy is unbearable in many ways. He’s the king of homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic remarks: he’s got it all. And he’s not just vile when he speaks; we have written proof,” Stéphane, with whom we spoke at length, told us.
For example: “Let’s stop wasting our time with all these pathetic Arabs. Let’s focus on our genes and find the investors we deserve,” the bourgeois casually wrote in a professional WhatsApp conversation with Nazi undertones. He then forwarded to his colleagues an article praising Geert Wilders, the Islamophobic Dutch far-right politician and proponent ofthe Great Replacement theory, with the comment: “So realistic.”
Subscribe to the URBANIA newsletter
And every Thursday, receive your dose of funny and intelligent content directly intravenously in your inbox.
Enter your email Subscribe
or Se connecter Log in
A resident of Gstaad, the famous Swiss ski resort and luxury hotspot frequented by the global elite and tax exiles, Xavier is also fond of discriminatory wordplay. “A faggot who’s got us by the balls, that’s
something :),” he proudly wrote to one ofthe investment fund’s partners. The homophobic slur is used in various messages by the Belgian baron, ranging from “little faggot” to “old faggot.”
While digging through the various written exchanges with his boss, Stéphane was stunned to find so much nonsense: “He’s a real caricature of a rich jerk. For him, all girls are whores, Arabs are thieves, and Jews love money.” He quoted a WhatsApp message he received from “XDM”: “How could this great advocate ofgood, involved in this world of Jewish investors, never manage to bring us a single kopeck? Another question, but so real and realistic.”
“I WANT THAT WHORE FIRED IMMEDIATELY.”
The extremely wealthy Belgian also knows how to be quite poetic with women. “When he talks about Xavier Niel’s chiefofstaff, he can’t help but call her ‘that whore.’ It’s not just a one-off; it’s a regular occurrence. It’s just how he talks,” Stéphane points out. The manager ofthe Franco-Luxembourgish investment fund forwarded us other equally colorful WhatsApp messages: “Who’s replying to this little whore? / My reply to this whore. / I want this whore fired immediately.”
Faced with such behavior, the fund’s head decided to exclude this shareholder from governance and then publicly denounce his discriminatory remarks. “Zero tolerance for insults and anti-Semitic and homophobic comments. Not our values,” stated the CEO, who has literally “blown the wind out” ofthe Belgian baron with this dismissal.
Has he decided to keep a low profile until things calm down, as is the case in most media-driven denunciations? Far from it, since he decided to respond with his lawyer, François Zimeray, citing a conflict between board members. This raises questions for Stéphane: “If I had a client accused of what we’re talking about, I would ask him to lie low and avoid making too much ofa fuss. Not once has he considered apologizing. He isn’t asking his lawyer to downplay or dismiss these remarks; he stands by them completely.”
THIS IS FAR FROM AN ISOLATED CASE.
She added: “90% ofpeople are careful; they’ve internalized that there are things that shouldn’t be said. But him? He’s interesting because he
embodies everything that’s unacceptable.” It seems that extreme wealth allows one to feel above the law; at least, that’s the theory of Alizée Delpierre, a doctor ofsociology.
“The way in which the very wealthy exercise their power reflects the fact that they feel entitled to play with the law because they are equipped to do so, by their studies, their professional positions, their social circles, and they ultimately feel above the legal system,” explains the specialist in domesticity among the ultra-rich at Usbek&Rica .
France Culture rapporte ainsi l’expérience de Damien, domestique pendant 2 ans et demi auprès d’une comtesse dans un immense château. Puisque le jeune homme devait remplacer une “bonne à tout faire”, il a été rebaptisé Murielle par la noble et devait porter un uniforme féminin. Le pire dans tout ça ? C’est qu’il devait parfois faire ses besoins dans une couche.
« Nous n’avions pas le droit d’utiliser les toilettes de nos maîtres, donc lorsque nous avions une envie, il fallait traverser tout le château et monter dans nos chambres, ce qui était trop long pour eux. Ils voyaient ça comme une perte de temps, c’est pour cette raison qu’elle nous faisait porter des couches. Au début, il était hors de question que je l’utilise, et puis au bout d’un moment, on est forcément obligé. C’est une sensation qu’on n’oublie pas la première fois qu’on le fait. C’est une humiliation terrible », raconte Damien dans le podcast Les Pieds sur terre.
Pour son enquête Servir les riches, Alizée Delpierre n’a pas hésité à devenir nanny et aide-cuisinière à temps partiel. Elle a pu ainsi infiltrer ce monde où règne le mépris, le sexisme, le racisme et la domination de manière totalement décomplexée. « Ce que les riches font au cœur de leur domicile est le reflet d’un système libéral et capitaliste contemporain qui assoit les inégalités sociales, raciales et sexuées sous couvert d’une réussite et d’une liberté individuelles illusoires », écrit-elle dans son ouvrage.
UN ACTIONNAIRE QUI N’ÉTAIT PLUS SORTABLE
Saufque dans le cas de notre membre de la noblesse belge, il ne s’agit pas d’un comportement problématique qui serait restreint dans le confort de sa demeure de Gstaad. Il s’agit là d’échanges professionnels qui ont donc poussé un fonds d’investissement à ouvrir les yeux sur son éthique. Doit-on alors parler de l’un de ces ultra-riches totalement déconnecté de la réalité, comme on a pu le voir récemment dans The White Lotus ?
Pas vraiment pour notre interlocuteur Stéphane : « Il n’est pas en dehors de notre époque. Il pense que #metoo c’est de la merde, que la lutte contre l’homophobie est bête, que modérer les propos racistes est un peu débile. Il est symbolique d’une partie de ces gens qui ont beaucoup de blé, qui en vivent très bien et qui ne sont pas super malins. »
While the world offinance operated outside ofsociety and its constraints, the investment fund decided to make an example ofit. Proofthat the world is changing, including in this sector, which since 2021 has had to comply with the SFDR regulation , aimed at increasing transparency for financial product providers. For Stéphane, the Belgian baron was no longer economically viable: “You can’t give presentations to investors, do business, and have a guy who makes the audience jump. […] There are standards that are being imposed in the world offinance, just as we’ve eradicated drug money.”
The final question: why does he remain so self-absorbed? Various studies conducted between 2009 and 2016 have shown that wealthy people have less compassion and tend to completely ignore the poor and their daily lives. “The rich care less about others than other social classes,” explains Pia Dette, author ofone ofthese studies .
It doesn’t explain racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and sexism, but hey, it already gives a good clue.
