Firefighters dousing flames from the burning Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
- France’s super-rich have joined together to pledge around 400 million euros ($452 million) to help rebuild Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral after it was ravaged by a fire.
- Bernard Arnault, the richest person in France and third-richest in the world, pledged to donate $226 million to help rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral, which went up in flames on Monday evening.
- He joins François-Henri Pinault, another French billionaire, in pledging millions of dollars in donations to the cathedral’s reconstruction fund.
- French oil and gas giant Total also pledged 100 million euros ($113 million) on Tuesday.
- Many other people around the world have pledged money to help rebuild the Parisian landmark.
- The Notre-Dame fire was fully extinguished on Tuesday morning, but the extent of the damage done and full cost of reparations remain unclear.
France’s super rich have joined together to pledge around 400 million euros ($452 million) of funding to help rebuild Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral after it was ravaged by a fire. Sarah Gray, Alexandra Ma and Will Martin reported on Business Insider.
The cathedral went up in flames on Monday evening, and its iconic spire collapsed. However, the twin towers are safe and a number of statues were removed from the top of the building last week, putting them out of harm’s way.
The fire was fully extinguished by 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning, but the extent of the damage done to the more than 850-year-old building is not yet clear. The total cost of reconstruction is not yet clear either.
By Tuesday afternoon, three separate donations of 100 million euros ($113 million) or more had been made to fund the rebuilding efforts.
The world’s third-richest man, Bernard Arnault, pledged to donate 200 million euros ($226 million) to help rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral, just hours after another billionaire, François-Henri Pinault, said he will give 100 million euros.
Soon after Arnault’s pledge, French oil giant Total said it will also pledged 100 million euros to the cause.