Billionaires Come Under Siege in France’s Election Campaign

France’s billionaire Saade family spent more than four decades discreetly building a global shipping empire from their base in the southern city of Marseille. The late founder mostly shirked elite Parisian social circles and the publicity that comes with politics.

But following a few years of unprecedented growth and record profits, the second generation heirs led by the more high-profile scion Rodolphe Saade and the company they control, <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://screens/144898Z%20FP","_id":"00000190-4745-d497-a7fb-ef4d6a060000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">CMA CGM SA, now find themselves in the national spotlight.

Jacques Saade, Rodolphe Saade and Tanya Saade in Le Havre, France.

Photographer: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Jordan Bardella, who is <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://news/stories/SEWJAQDWX2PS","_id":"00000190-4745-d497-a7fb-ef4d6a480001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">set to become prime minister if Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally gains a majority in the ...